Hay traders urge growers not to abandon hay

Hay traders are urging growers to reconsider their decision to abandon this year’s harvest due to bad weather and high grain prices.

Australia is heading for an “acute shortage” of hay due to bad weather and high grain prices, and growers can expect prices for the commodity to rise to “drought value” in early 2023, an industry leader has said.

Feed Central managing director Tim Ford said 80 per cent of the 10 million tonnes of hay produced annually in Australia came from Victoria, and he expected the volume produced in the state to fall significantly as a result of October’s heavy rainfall and flooding.

“We don’t know yet how much damage has been done, but there was already a shortage of hay, and events like this have made that worse,” he said.

He urged any growers able to make hay this season not to abandon their 2022-23 harvest.

“Buyers want good quality hay and they’re prepared to pay for it,” he said.

Prices for non-weather-damaged cereal hay could rise to $300-$350 a tonne by early next year, and lucerne and vetch hay prices, which had been at about $300 a tonne for most of the year would also go up, Mr Ford said.

I admitted defeat on the vetch for hay today, the weather outlook was making it seem pretty much impossible. Certainly not a lost cause as will store heaps of moisture and N for next year and feed a few 🐑 maybe if conditions allow. pic.twitter.com/DvdrG0aa9v

— Ryan Milgate (@ryan_milgate) October 11, 2022

“There has been very solid demand all year for hay,” he said.

“Between the floods and the wet weather, we’re facing an acute shortage of quality product and the conditions for making quality product continue to deteriorate, so we’re running out of time for the product to be made.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to work out what is going on. Under an acute shortage situation prices always rise,” he said.

The hay shortage was just as acute in other states, Mr Ford said.

“There hasn’t been any hay cut on scale anywhere on the east coast. In South Australia there’s been a bit of hay cut and Western Australia there’s been hay cut, but NSW, Queensland and Victoria: very, very low volumes.”

When grain prices rose early this year off the back of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many growers decided to plant their land to grain rather than hay crops.

“What we’ve seen in many other years when growers are aiming for grain, there might be a dry finish or frost or something which does create a lot of hay but those circumstances certainly haven’t eventuated.”

Across the east coast many growers had now abandoned their hay crops as wet conditions set in. Those who had considered cutting for hay hadn’t had the fine weather window to do so, Mr Ford said.

“The key message to growers is that the demand is there,” he said.

“If the weather window allows, they should not hesitate to make hay.”

Day 1 baling… might be the only day baling we do this year 😩. Not much quality left in the vetch. Another 40-60mm forecast next 2 days will most likely finish the job off. What’s the best/efficient replacement for protein hay? pic.twitter.com/4KCbjLjib4

— DASAG (@DSchuckar) October 12, 2022