Price silage maize to highest point in 3 years

A few months ago there was hardly any trade in silage maize. And if we look at the statistics, we see that trade was even below the level of recent years. However, there is no sign of that anymore. There is more demand for the product, mainly due to the drought.

The drought has created fear among dairy farmers that the yields and quality of the silage maize will be disappointing. This caused the price to rise last week already to €60 per tonne free at the farm, but it doesn't stop there. The price has risen further to €65 per tonne, free of charge, the highest level in 3 years.

Increasing trend for straw
Various forage traders report that there is more demand for straw this week. This causes the price to rise slightly to €117,50 per tonne free at the farm (both for barley and wheat straw). However, according to a number of traders, this is only the pre-sale, which would mean that the trend is upward and therefore there higher prices can be expected.

The price of spent grain is also rising and this week amounts to €2,15 per percent dry matter. This product has become more popular in recent times because it offers a higher nutritional value. Grolsch recently announced that it processes 50.000 tons of spent grain into animal feed every year. 

(Text continues below the chart)The price of silage maize has shown a strong increase in recent weeks.

Silage grass not popular
There is little demand for silage grass, which makes it striking that the price has risen slightly. This week it amounts to €50 per tonne, free of charge. According to the forage traders, this is mainly due to the better quality.

There is also little demand for perennial ryegrass, which means the price remains at €120 per tonne, free of charge. This has to do with the experiences of last season. That season the quality was terribly poor and that sentiment continues this season. "However, this is not necessary at all, because the quality is significantly better this year," says a forage trader.

There has also been little demand for meadow hay in recent months, although this is slightly more than last year. This means that the price has not yet been able to move and remains stuck at €160 per ton, free of charge. Red fescue, tall fescue and Veldbeemd were again minimally available last week, which means that here too the prices remain at €140, €135 and €155 per tonne, free of charge, respectively.

(Text continues below the chart)The price of silage maize is currently above the level of recent years.

The price of feed potatoes is rising
The price of feed potatoes is again showing an upward trend. As mentioned last week, this also has to do with the change in the potato market. That is also this week still in force. This causes the price to rise to €30 per tonne, delivered to the farm.

This week, grassland is also being cultivated in various places in the Netherlands rained. The livestock farmers do this mainly with surface water, because they have no source. However, this is becoming increasingly difficult, because more and more irrigation bans are being imposed. Will this cause feed prices to rise (even) further in the coming period?Grassland is being irrigated in various areas in the Netherlands due to the drought.