The permanent work continues steadily, but it is not very exciting on the roughage market. Confidence among buyers has been better at times. This is not due to mediocre market expectations, but to unclear government policy that is difficult for the ordinary farmer to follow.
Threatening high costs for the sale of manure due to the phasing out of the derogation hang like a dark cloud over the sector. Being careful with costs and especially not making crazy jumps is more or less the mood among a large proportion of livestock farmers. It is still too early to say anything about spring. Livestock farmers wait and reason: they can always buy more if we actually run out of feed.
The picture between traders in silage maize and silage grass is very variable. One forage trader is in a more extensive region where there is less demand, while at the next the demand is starting to pick up. The supply generally does not last. Especially beautiful silage grass is not easy for farmers to let go of. You mainly have to rely on retiring livestock farmers. The DCA Indicative Price for silage is €100 per tonne. Corn is more readily available, but here too the market is certainly not oversupplied. The DCA Indication Price remains stable at €100 per tonne.
Campaign products
Things are slowly starting to shift in the by-products. The chicory campaign has been completed, the potato starch campaign is slowing down a notch and the beet campaign is nearing the end. As a result, some livestock farmers are cutting back on rations. According to insiders, potato by-products such as steam peels are readily available, but feed potatoes remain scarce. The DCA Indicative Price remains the same at €60 per tonne. Brewers have largely completed their planned stops and are running at full speed. The range of spent grains will therefore be somewhat wider. The DCA Indicative Price takes a step back this week and amounts to €4 per percent dry matter.
In straw, permanent work continues steadily. The supply of good straw from Germany and Denmark is somewhat disappointing, according to insiders. France is the most important supplier and this is also reflected in the prices, which are a lot lower in the south than in the north of the Netherlands. The DCA Indicative Price for both wheat and barley straw is €140 per tonne. There is little trade in grass seed hay. Some livestock farmers opt for straw, which is more available as a structural product. Others feed meadow/dike hay. The price for grass seed hay is €170 per tonne and for meadow hay at €190 per tonne.