It's almost a madhouse on the roughage market. The maize is ripening at an emergency rate and forage traders are having trouble matching supply with demand. By-products were also sought. Due to the early maize harvest, the demand for covering products is also gaining momentum. And that puts pressure on an already tight market.
High prices normally put a brake on demand for feed. That is not an issue at all now. The milk is quite expensive. Livestock farmers therefore do their utmost to keep the milk in good condition. In addition, the drought of the last few months has caused grass and corn yields to be somewhat disappointing on various farms. However, the supply of feed is limited and that is a problem.
Cutting maize ripens very quickly at the moment. The plant dries up in front of you while the cob is barely ripe. "If you haven't looked at a field for a few days, you're almost shocked at how quickly the corn is deteriorating," says a trader. For contractors and traders it is quite a task to chop the corn at the right time and organize the transport. There is hardly any spread. Everything comes at once now.
Little to offer
There is certainly no shortage of corn supply. Livestock farmers who normally sow corn generously and then sometimes want to sell some of it as stems, hardly grow any corn at all. The quality also varies considerably. Drought has wreaked havoc here and there, while little else seems to be happening.
Prices for corn vary considerably due to quality differences and different transport distances, among other things. One has done business around €80 per ton delivered loose on the plate, while another is already approaching €100 per ton. There are also several traders who are full and cannot deliver for a while. The DCA Indicative Price this week is €90 per tonne.
The demand for by-products was already good and has become even greater due to the demand for covering for silage maize. The potato processors continue to operate normally, but there have been years with more supply, according to traders. However, some industries are slowing down, for example due to high energy prices or slightly declining demand. This creates additional uncertainty and tension on the by-product market. Waiting times are long and traders mainly try to serve regular customers. The DCA Indicative Price for spent grain nevertheless remains the same as last week at €3,90 per percent dry matter. Suppliers hint that a price increase is not far away in the current market. The supply of feed potatoes also remains poor. The DCA Indicative Price for feed potatoes is €45 per tonne.
There remains interest in silage grass, but there is hardly any supply. The DCA Indicative Price remains the same as last week at €75 per tonne. You just have to be lucky to get silage grass. The trade in hay and straw is at a lower level due to the busy demand for other products. The DCA Indicative Price for straw is €130 per tonne and grass seed hay remains the same at €130 to €145 per tonne depending on the variety. Meadow hay is a step up compared to last week and amounts to €185 per tonne. However, the demand does not come from livestock farming, but mainly from riding schools.