Good food is still in demand. Especially products to bridge the weeks until the first slice has been preserved are sought after by livestock farmers. However, the supply of roughage is meager according to various forage traders.
New silage grass is not yet available and hay and straw supplies are declining rapidly, while the new harvest will still take a number of weeks in these segments. Good roughage therefore also remains well priced.
By-products are in high demand
Particularly due to the high feed prices, there remains a good demand for by-products and residual products. Partly as an alternative to expensive concentrates and partly as an alternative to silage maize. The price of spent grain remains the same as last week at €2,65 per percent dry matter. Both supply and demand are well balanced. Feed potatoes have also remained the same in price and stand at €42,50 per tonne. The supply of feed potatoes is limited and varies greatly from week to week. That makes sales difficult for traders. Livestock farmers, especially when it comes to feed potatoes, benefit from a constant share in the ration.
The turnover of silage maize varies greatly per trader. Livestock farmers are generally fairly cautious. Some farmers are now changing tack and buying under the assumption that corn prices will not drop much in the period. Other dairy farmers find the current prices too high, postpone or seek refuge in other (by) products. The DCA Indicative Price of silage maize remains the same as before at €70 per tonne.
Wet weather creates extra demand for silage
There is currently more demand than supply for silage. Especially to bridge the weeks until the first new silage grass is well preserved. And livestock farmers who did not mow around Ascension Day have not had a chance to mow since then. This means that the first cut can only be mowed there late. The grazing season is also difficult due to the wet weather. Cows have more difficulty ingesting grass from outside and livestock farmers feed more in the stable than in other years.
Good silage grass is only available to a limited extent. The DCA Indicative Price this week remains the same as last week at €70 per ton delivered to the farmer. Due to the relatively high price and the good regrowth of the grass in the places where it has already been mowed, only relatively small lots are traded.
Little hay and straw
There is little hay and straw available anymore. The demand for hay currently mainly comes from riding schools and private horse owners. Meadow hay is almost sold out at most traders. Where available, good quality hay is offered at prices around €200 per tonne. Some traders offer grass seed hay as an alternative to meadow hay, but not much of this is available either. The price of grass seed hay is around €150 per tonne. For most traders, there is little or no difference between the different breeds.
Most traders in the Netherlands have largely run out of straw. And there is also not much supply left in Germany and France. That is why straw is mainly sourced from Denmark and Spain and even Poland participates. The price of wheat straw remains at €150 per tonne. Barley straw is €5 cheaper and stands at €145 per tonne.