Drying corn has been a problem in a smaller area so far this year than last year, when it was also so hot at the end of July. Only in the Achterhoek and Twente is good silage maize really scarce until now. What does this do to the price?
But unlike last year, a good maize crop is in the making at a relatively short distance in this region in Salland due to repeated downpours. In the south of the Netherlands, on the sandy soils where a lot of maize is grown, the relationship between supply and demand has changed due to significant livestock decline, so that scarcity is not yet an issue.
On the sandy soils, just like in Achterhoek and Twente, it is very dry in Brabant and Limburg. Traders in the north of the Netherlands also do not have to fight for the supply of good silage maize, although the precipitation deficit on the sandy soils in Drenthe is also just as great as last year.
Rain showers next weekend
About €70 per tonne is paid for good silage maize from last year. The price of this quality maize for silage has risen slightly in recent weeks, but unlike last year, trading is still fairly calm at the end of July. For the further price development, much depends on the thunderstorms that next weekend are said to be on the agenda. The price usually falls in the autumn, during the landing period.
However, it is not said whether that kite will also go up this year. Because there is no doubt that the record heat in the coming days will have an attack on the silage maize that has arrived in the crucial phase of the cob setting. Last year the maize dried up throughout the Netherlands at the end of July. That is not the case now, because of the large differences in precipitation amounts over a short distance. In the east of the Netherlands, much more is also irrigated than last year, the water boards report.
Bump fire
The quality of the silage maize from 2018 and 2017 that is offered is very variable. For a long time, less than 300 grams of starch per kilo of dry matter was the lower limit, but maize with less than 300 grams of starch is now also offered and traded. Due to last year's drought, a lot of silage maize was contaminated with bubbling fire.
Also this year the risk of bubonic fire damage is quite high. The more the crop suffers from the heat, the greater the chance of infection. All in all, the coming weeks will be crucial for the development of the crop and the price development by extension.