Milk prices are rising somewhat, which in turn motivates farmers to focus more on maximum production and slightly less on the lowest feed costs, according to various forage traders. The grass and maize silages do require supplementation at various farms in order to optimize the ration and to keep the cows well with milk this season.
Concentrates are relatively expensive, so livestock farmers are looking for alternatives and this is especially noticeable in the demand for by-products. What comes onto the market quickly finds a buyer and suppliers even report waiting times for various products. The DCA Indicative Price for spent grain remains the same as last week at €3,10 per percent dry matter.
Less supply around the holidays
There is still a risk in the shortage around by-products in the coming weeks. Around the holidays, breweries or potato processors often reduce production and the availability of spent grains, for example, decreases. This can usually be covered with stock, but this year feed traders have no or only a small working stock. Several forage traders advise not to wait before ordering. The chance of price drops is considered small, while availability may become limited, especially in the second half of December and early January.
The supply of feed potatoes remains limited. Potato processors are in a good position on the market and what is not suitable for fries easily finds its way into flakes, for example. Feed potatoes that come onto the market are mainly small batches of sorted seed potatoes or table potatoes. The DCA Indicative Price remains the same as last week at €45 per tonne.
Major differences in straw quality
Good straw remains in high demand. The problem is that there is not much good straw available. Some batches have been properly dried, but then there is short gray straw in the packs. With others it is long straw with color, but you can hardly get the moisture meter to stick into it because it has been pressed too moist. And according to traders, you also encounter many quality differences within batches or loads, so there are just a few wrong packs. The DCA Indicative Price remains the same at €130 per tonne for both wheat and barley straw.
There are buyers for good silage grass, but the supply is disappointing. Grass silage is offered, but it is often not, for example due to too low a protein content or too wet silage. There is little demand for that somewhat lower quality grass. The DCA Indicative Price for good silage grass remains at €65 per tonne.
Little demand for corn
The trade in silage maize is very quiet at the moment. Many livestock farmers have purchased sufficient amounts during the off-farm period, which means that there is now little demand for corn. There is still some trading going on, but these are generally small parties. The DCA Indicative Price is €70 per tonne for good maize from the pit delivered to the farmer.
There is also not much trade in hay at the moment. Traders do report that the supply of beautiful meadow hay is limited. The price is therefore rising slightly and the DCA Indicative Price this week is €180 per tonne. Grass seed hay remains unchanged at €130 to €150 per tonne depending on the variety. These are prices comparable to hammered Spanish straw. Due to the varying quality of the grass seed hay, several livestock farmers are therefore switching to Spanish straw.