The maize harvest is almost complete. With this, peace returns a bit for forage traders. The work is going well, according to various traders. The dry summer has left its mark on the roughage position at various livestock farmers.
Relatively high prices for feed during the season have caused livestock farmers to be cautious about purchasing additional feed. Now that the corn and grass harvests are almost over, farmers are taking stock. Various companies have come to the conclusion that they are not overly plentiful in roughage.
Traders report that there is a lot of information about silage grass in particular. Good silage from the first or second cut is only available to a very limited extent. That's exactly what the demand is for. What is on offer, however, is mainly the late autumn grass that has been harvested in recent weeks. "You have to make an effort to get rid of it," according to a trader. The DCA indicative price for good silage grass remains at €75 per tonne.
The trade in silage maize is quiet at the moment. The harvest is almost complete, livestock farmers are provisionally supplied with corn. Some traders feel that the price is under some pressure, but that picture is distorted because the quality of the corn that is now available is generally not great. The DCA indication price for good corn remains the same as last week at €95 per tonne.
The supply of by-products is and remains tight. This is noticeable, among other things, in the long waiting times for various products. Suppliers are finding it difficult to serve regular feeders and are reluctant to take on new customers. The price of spent grain remains the same as before at €4,05 per percent dry matter. Feed potatoes are also difficult to obtain. Potatoes are quite expensive and the potato processing industry does not waste potatoes. This is noticeable on the feed market. The DCA indicative price for feed potatoes this week will be €45 per tonne, if they are available.
Good demand for straw
The trade in meadow and grass seed hay continues steadily. It is not really busy, but according to traders, something is always missing. The DCA indication prices remain the same at €195 per tonne for meadow hay and €135 to €145 per tonne depending on the variety for grass seed hay. The price for chopped grass seed hay is approximately €10 higher. The demand for straw currently mainly comes from bulbs. But according to some traders, quite a bit of straw is also being lost to livestock farming. Several livestock farmers found straw to be on the expensive side last summer and bought less straw than normal. As a result, there is now slightly more demand from livestock farming than in other years in this period. The DCA indicative price for both wheat and barley straw is €140 per tonne.
Click here to view the prices.