‘Nervous times’: Prices for fodder double, farmers on edge

Prices for fodder have doubled in some instances since September last year, as farmers secure feed following a drier than expected autumn.

Prices for fodder have doubled in some instances since September last year, as farmers secure feed following a drier than expected autumn.

This week, large bales of vetch are trading at $455/tonne in the Gippsland region and prices have spiked at $490/tonne on the south coast dairying region of NSW.

Australian Dairy Farmers president Ben Bennett farms at Pomborneit in western Victoria and said buyers could secure high-quality vetch hay for $180/tonne during spring and early summer directly off the baler; now, prices were more than $400/tonne.

Australian Dairy Farmers director Ben Bennett

Prices have been exacerbated by dry seasonal conditions in many of the dairying regions of Victoria and NSW.

However, recent rain, with 30mm recorded at Sale in the past month and 20.2mm at Maffra, was expected to help boost lucerne pastures for dairy farmers.

“It is nervous times,” Mr Bennett said.

The latest Australian Fodder Industry Association Hay Report shows that there has been a general increase for cereal and lucerne hay, straw and pasture hay.

In the Goulburn Valley cereal hay is making $310 to $360/tonne and lucerne up to $415/tonne. Gippsland is quoting prices of $390/tonne for cereal hay and up to $470/tonne for lucerne hay.

AFIA director Alex Peacock farms at Rochester and said high-quality vetch was scarce, so prices had increased.

He said dairy and beef producers were competing to secure all classes of fodder.

Although the vast majority of vetch was washed out due to wet weather back in 2022, Mr Peacock said there had been a chance to replenish stock since then. The factors at play now were largely because of demand from livestock producers who had experienced dry seasonal conditions.

Mr Peacock said he didn’t expect stocks of vetch to improve until spring.

Vetch at Rand in southern NSW. Picture: Zoe Phillips

FodderLink inspections and product development manager Joel Kennedy said demand for all fodder was higher than usual.

He said the dry seasonal conditions this winter had attributed to the demand.

“It is dry in south west Victoria and south west South Australia and that has added to pressure,” he said.

“Supplies of vetch are low, and that is underpinning the market, buyers will look to other options like canola meal or supplement with straw.”

Mr Kennedy said lucerne hay was still available and priced from $300 to $400/tonne for stock-feed quality hay.

Despite the high prices, Mr Kennedy said he believed fodder values would start to stabilise. He said he didn’t necessarily think prices would go higher than the current levels.