The roughage market remains tense. It is not overly busy on the demand side, but farmers who are on the market have little patience. On the other hand, limited good feed is offered. Farmers who normally have plenty of roughage, take a look at how the growing season continues.
A northeasterly wind, little or no rain in the forecast and relatively low temperatures for the time of year. This has an effect on the roughage market. The newly sown corn is having difficulty getting started and the regrowth of the grass is somewhat slower. Traders notice this in the offer. Livestock farmers prefer to keep top quality products themselves. That does not mean that there is nothing available. If buyers compromise on quality, there is often something to be had.
There is little trade in silage from the new harvest. A few loads of bales are being done, but otherwise it is still quiet. Not surprising in itself, because farmers have only just harvested (the last part) of the first cut. There is also limited trade for silage from last season. Not without exception, this concerns livestock farmers who are in a pinch and have to buy. That makes it difficult for DCA to give a good Indicative Price, it is a bit of a fool's errand. It is difficult to find good silage for much less than €100 per tonne.
Potato by-products are scarce
The demand for by-products is relatively good for this time of year. Potato by-products are even in short supply at the moment. As it stands now, the old and new harvest of potatoes do not fit together well and processors have unplanned stops. The DCA Indicative Price for feed potatoes (as far as they are available) remains the same as last week at €60 per tonne. There is no shortage of spent grain, but some suppliers indicate that there is absolutely no surplus. The market is now fairly balanced and the DCA Indicative Price for spent grain remains the same at €3,70 per percent dry matter.
There is quite a bit of demand for silage maize at this time of year, but buyers have high demands. That does not fit well with the corn supply everywhere. There are, however, considerable differences between traders. The DCA Indicative Price for silage maize this week is €110 per tonne.
The hay trade is quiet. Buyers are waiting for the new harvest for both grass seed and meadow hay. The first meadow hay of 2023 is slowly coming onto the market, but these are not yet large volumes. The Indicative Price for meadow hay is €190 per tonne and for grass seed hay the price ranges from €145 to €155 per tonne, depending on the variety. There is a bit more trade in straw, but here too most traders are not really busy. The DCA Indicative Price for both wheat and barley straw is €145 per tonne.