The yield of silage maize in the Netherlands was the lowest since at least 2010 last year, according to the final harvest estimate of the CBS. The low yield per hectare, as a result of the late sowing, is particularly noticeable in the figures. The market is still relatively calm.
The total silage maize harvest for 2024 will amount to 7.731.422 tonnes. This is a decrease of almost 10% compared to the previous growing year. This while the harvested area had increased by 5,9% to 190.093 and was also the highest since 2020. In the preliminary harvest estimate in October, CBS also assumed an additional 800.000 tonnes of product.
The 40,3 tonnes yield per hectare is historically very low. A year earlier this was still 44,5 tonnes per hectare, which explains the sharp drop in yield. The CBS data goes back to 2010 and never before was the yield as low as it is now.
wet spring
The higher area is partly due to the late and wet spring, which sometimes made corn the only option. On the other hand, grain prices have normalised again after good years and arable farmers may have opted for corn more often. This explains the increase in area in provinces such as Groningen and Zeeland. The wet and late spring also explains the low(er) yield per hectare, because the crop simply missed growing days. This could not be compensated for by sowing late crops.
Prices lower than previous years
Despite the much lower yield, the silage maize prices in our country are not very high. At €90 per ton (free delivery), the prices are slightly above the long-term average, but €10 below the level last year around this time. In 2023, prices were also higher at this time of year. However, the upward trend has started again this week.