It is mainly silage maize that is the clock on the roughage market. The harvest has started early and is progressing steadily. There is plenty of demand for maize, but the supply is stalling. There is also a great deal of interest in residual and by-products and traders have difficulty supplying customers.
"The milk price is very decent, but with these feed prices that is also very necessary", is a frequently heard comment. Grass has benefited from the rain last week but it will not be easy to get a nice cut from it so relatively late in the season. The maize has matured extremely quickly in places and there are doubts about the nutritional value for those plots. This combination further drives up prices in the already tense feed market.
Many forage traders are very busy with silage maize. Many livestock farmers are not very generous with their roughage. On the one hand, this creates additional demand for maize. On the other hand, farmers who normally sow more than enough maize to sell at harvest, don't feel like getting rid of it now. The rapid ripening also provides an extra challenge. Not only because of the quality but also in logistics. The DCA Indication Price has taken a big step up and this week amounts to €100 per tonne for fresh maize delivered loose on the silage plate.
Start of beet campaign does not bring relief
The starch campaign has been underway for a few weeks and the beet campaign has also started today. Usually that gives some air to the by-product market. That is not the case this season. Demand remains high and merchants are struggling to continue supplying customers. That plays across the spectrum. There is no such thing as switching to another product that has more supply. In fact, the delivery times of various products are increasing despite the price increases and that various suppliers have been stopping new customers for a long time. The DCA Indication price for brewer's grain has increased compared to last week and now amounts to €4 per percent dry matter. Feed potatoes also remain scarce. The DCA Indication Price remains the same as last week at €45 per tonne.
Good silage is also hard to come by. What comes on the market often does not last according to traders. Good grass is kept by farmers themselves. It's just the riding pits or bales that don't give you what they want to get rid of. The DCA Indication Price for silage grass remains the same at €75 per tonne if you can find it.
The trade in hay and straw has been pushed into the background by many traders due to the busy maize. The fixed work continues and it stops there at the moment. The DCA Indication Price for both wheat and barley straw remains at €130 per tonne. For grass seed hay the price ranges from €130 to €145 per ton depending on the variety. The indicative price for meadow hay is €185 per tonne.