The biggest rush is now behind us in the roughage trade. That doesn't mean the tension is gone. The battle in the corn is not yet over due to the rain of the last few weeks. It is also striking that the demand for by-products is good. Livestock farmers are actively looking for supplements to the ration.
Rain has the annoying property that it does not always fall when it is needed. The rainfall in recent weeks has been too much for the silage maize harvest. And decent solid dry weather is not in the forecast. It is therefore a struggle to get the corn off. Especially in the north of the country, there is still quite a bit of (late-sown) maize. It will be a challenge to get it neatly into the hole. Expectations are generally good about the quality of the corn that has been harvested. Pit results are hardly known yet, but several sources would be surprised if they were to be disappointing. The prices of silage maize vary somewhat. The DCA Indicative Price for silage maize this week amounts to €80 per tonne.
With the corn harvest now well underway, the demand for covering products has also calmed down somewhat. This does differ per region. The general trend is that it is no longer necessary to pull out all the stops for the cover. That does not mean that the trade in by-products is quiet. Whether it is because the feed value of silage is somewhat disappointing for some livestock farmers, because pellets are expensive or because of supply problems with some flows, the demand for by-products is good. The beet campaign finally seems to be gaining momentum and the delivery of pressed pulp is also going more smoothly. The availability of spent grain varies somewhat from supplier to supplier, but overall more could be sold than is available. The DCA Indicative Price of spent grains has increased this week to €4,10 per percent dry matter. Feed potatoes still remain difficult to obtain. The DCA Indicative Price this week is €50 per tonne.
Bulb growers pull straw
In the straw trade, it is the bulb growers who add color to the market. It is a fairly specific group, but they take the most straw these weeks. It is quiet in the livestock farming industry, except for the regular customers. That is not strange for this time of year. The DCA Indicative Price takes a step up this week and amounts to €135 per tonne for both wheat and barley straw.
Grass still grows, but because of the precipitation you won't get much out of it. It is certainly too late to mow again, regardless of the weather, which is also not cooperating. It is now too wet to keep the cows outside. There is very little trade in grass silage. In general, livestock farmers have harvested sufficient grass and are hardly on the market. Most of the work is done by regular customers, often from the horse farming industry. The DCA Indicative Price for silage remains stable at €100 per tonne.
Grass seed hay is in demand, but difficult to obtain. It's safely in the shed, the sellers think, and arable farmers generally have other work to complete before they even think about finding and loading a load of grass seed hay. The DCA Indicative Price this week amounts to €165 per tonne for all varieties. The meadow hay market is reasonably balanced. There is no shortage of supply, but there is also not much demand. The DCA Indication Price remains stable at €190 per tonne.