Hay prices in Victoria and NSW stagnate
Hay prices are up to $255 a tonne cheaper in comparison with recent years. Growers and contractors say there’s just ‘no demand’.
The “flat” hay market isn’t likely to change anytime soon.
With drought no longer plaguing most of the eastern states and a shortage of cattle not leading to extra demand, cereal hay prices have moved in a $15 trading range during the past 10 months.
And despite the mice plague decimating hay stacks in some areas of NSW, growers and contractors are reporting hay sheds across Victoria and in NSW are mostly full.
Large bales of cereal hay delivered Shepparton are trading at $195 a tonne — $45 cheaper than the same time last year and $255 cheaper than in 2019, while large bales of vetch delivered Warragul are currently $275 a tonne, $80 cheaper than last year.
In NSW large cereal bales delivered Forbes are making $220 a tonne, down $85 on last year.
Jumbuk Consulting director Colin Peace, who is The Weekly Times Hay Talk columnist, said given how sensitive the Australian hay market is to dry weather, the extraordinarily long period of flat prices is “out of the box”.
Mr Peace said since mid-September last year, hay prices have stayed within the same $15 a tonne trading range, with vetch and pasture hay also selling in a small range.
“The only other 10-month period when hay prices have remained as stagnant as this was in the wet season of 2010-11 when cereal hay prices traded within $15 of an average price of $120 a tonne for the 14 months from August 2010 to October 2011,” he said.
Kerang-based hay producer and contractor, Tony Bloomfield of Bloomfield Hay and Transport, said there was a lot of carry-over hay in the state.
“There’s just no demand, so prices are flat. You could be (pushing hard) to try and sell but I don’t think it would make a difference, no phone calls, means there’s no demand,” Mr Bloomfield said.
He said due to the wet spring which made processing hay difficult, a lot of the hay in sheds was downgraded quality, which would “take a big dry spell for people to want it”.
Hay producer and contractor, Colin Kelly, from Leongatha said the flat market was simple supply and demand.
“The rain on the eastern seaboard and the shortage of cattle means the people wanting hay just aren’t there,” Mr Kelly said.
“There’s a bit of a market for cereal hay into Gippsland, and prices held up OK for export contracts for Wimmera-Mallee growers but anything being sold now has fallen (in price) considerably.”
In the long term Mr Kelly said he expected demand to be steady.
“Good quality hay always sell, even if it sits in the shed a little longer.”
“We are doing two or three truck loads of hay a week at the moment, whereas it was seven or more not that long ago.”
MORE
Frost, hail prompts multi-peril crop insurance calls
Farmers are discussing options for multi-peril crop insurance after crops were wiped out in the Wimmera during a hail storm.
Assessing yield potential with just a phone and a ruler
The outcomes for a tough cropping season could be known before harvest thanks to an assessment that uses just a phone and a ruler.