The selling prices for liquid manure seemed to have finally started to decline, but the duration of that decline appears to be very limited. The wet spring and the depressed supply are taking control of the market again, while the weather forecasts are far from favorable for the spreading season at the beginning of April.
The spreading season has so far been far from successful due to the wet weather. Quite a bit of manure has now been spread in the center of the Netherlands and several plots of land in the north and east also allow injectors. However, this does not apply to all plots and types of land. Contractors and manure transporters indicate that the spreading conditions are not always favorable and that not a drop has yet been removed from manure storage facilities at various locations. Others indicate that they drive all trucks. In the south, on the other hand, little has been spread again this week and there the pressure is increasing considerably on the fertilizer market. Some regions in Zeeland are an exception. In short, the sales opportunities in the country are very variable.
Due to the wet soil and the weather forecast, which is very unfavorable for the exit options, contractors and transporters expect to sell very little in the near future. In the meantime, the grain continues to grow rapidly thanks to the higher temperature and plenty of moisture. It can ensure that the placement space on grain is only used up to a certain height. However, contractors indicate that manure buyers are pushing their limits at these manure prices. For the money that buyers receive, they dare to leave some marks in the grain. The damage caused by this does not outweigh what they receive.
Pig slurry more expensive again
The supply of liquid manure remains depressing on the market. Despite the fact that quite a bit has been spread, manure intermediaries also see that a lot is still being offered. Many manure cellars are now filling up again, which means that the manure must be removed to the livestock farmer again. In view of the weather forecast, the chances of spreading that much liquid manure are only becoming smaller and that is putting considerable pressure on the market. This development is also reflected in DCA's manure quotations, where sales prices for liquid manure have not fallen further, as was the case for cattle liquid manure in the past two weeks.
The selling prices for pig slurry already showed a different picture last week and even recorded a plus in some regions. That is the case again this week on average across the board. Manure buyers mainly prefer cattle slurry instead of pig slurry. Converted to the nutrient levels, they can receive more money for cattle manure than pig slurry now that both prices are close to each other. As a result, manure transporters and contractors do not lose the pig slurry and the price differences between the two types of manure increase further. Contractors expect that when prices diverge further, the demand for pig slurry will increase again.
View the weekly fertilizer quotations per region from DCA here.