Almond hull demand increasing as alternative dairy feed option

Other than cereal hay, demand for almond hulls is increasing with prices up $15 a tonne in the last month.

Mixed signals in domestic and export markets may still provide hay growers with some future selling opportunities.

Many Victorian dairy farmers describe their paddocks as wet, which is typical of the season. Excessively wet paddocks can lead to an increase in hay demand as stock are move to containment feeding to avoid pugging and destruction of spring pasture growth.

Some specifics of modelled soil moisture provide some insights to demand.

Given the continual downfalls in the southwest of Vic it’s no surprise that the Portland coast has the highest relative root zone soil moisture at 81 percentile. Hamilton received another 22mm last week and Portland 25mm.

Croppers and livestock operators are also finding things wet near Shepparton as soil moistures sit at a 76 percentile. The Campaspe and Loddon catchments are also sticky with 65 percentile moisture.

Other southern Victorian regions are surprisingly drier than normal but locals still describe general conditions as wet. East Gippsland soil moisture is a 40 percentile and South Gippsland sites at 24 percentile.

Further north where moisture is more likely to grow more pasture in warmer conditions, soils are at the driest end of the spectrum.

The Manning River catchment near Taree is modelled at 22 percentile and Bega Valley comes in at only 6 percentile.

These areas are looking for fibre supplements to match with the limited silage and pastures available.

Those near Manildra in NSW can access the dried distillers grain pellets that provide a cost effective source of fibre, energy and protein but low quality cereal hay is the main fibre source on offer for most buyers.

Other than cereal hay, demand for almond hulls is increasing with prices increasing $15 a tonne this month to $97 ex works in the Victorian Mallee.

Straw prices remain flat. Fodder exporters were paying $140 a tonne delivered plant earlier this year but export straw prices have since collapsed.

A combination of factors have led to lower straw prices in the US including a recovery from last year’s drought conditions and falling US domestic demand, declining demand from cash strapped consumers in north Asia and competition from other exporters to sell their old crop straw before new crop straw begins to flow into their sheds.

The outlook for new crop export hay prices will be strongly linked to the developing market in the US.

Rain has disrupted the first cut in Idaho which grows a quarter of the alfalfa produced in the Pacific North West of the US. However, the growers in the Columbia Basin and Willamette Valley in Oregon are enjoying clear hay making weather.

Prices for alfalfa hay in central California have plunged $90 US a tonne this year to $280 US.

In a sign that export prices may be supported next season, alfalfa prices in the major export states of Washington and Oregon have only eased $15 US a tonne and remain stubbornly high at $310 to $320 US a tonne ex farm.