Analysis roughage
Hot and dry weather makes the grass stand still
The warm and especially dry summer weather is the most discussed topic on the roughage market. Grass has a hard time regrowing after the second cut. Furthermore, it is mainly barley straw that is in action.
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The quality of the grass harvested this spring is generally good, Eurofins wrote this week based on the silage they examined. However, the quantities that came off were, according to insiders, just average. July has a reputation for not being the best month for grass growth and if you also have high temperatures and little or no rain, it will not grow at all. Partly because of this, there is a fair amount of demand for silage grass in some regions. Prices do vary considerably. At the top end, €90 for silage grass that can be fed directly also plays a role. The DCA Indicative Price for silage grass this week is €80 per tonne.
Supply of new straw is gaining momentum
There is also some trade in straw, but that mainly concerns barley straw from France that is coming onto the market. The DCA Indicative Price for new barley straw remains stable at €140 per tonne. For wheat straw, it is mainly a matter of waiting for the new harvest. Some traders still do some old straw for regular customers, but these are not large quantities. The DCA Indicative Price for wheat straw remains the same at €185 per tonne.
For grass seed hay it is still a bit too early according to most traders. The harvest of that has yet to get going. For grass seed hay from the previous harvest prices of €165 per ton are mentioned but, as most suppliers indicate, there is no trade in that at all anymore. Meadow hay is available but the trade is quiet. It is mainly regular customers who buy some extra or horse owners who want to feed it immediately. That makes the price range quite wide. The indicative price remains the same at €175 per ton.
Traders have to get to work with feed potatoes. Price-wise it is an interesting stream, but you have to have feed speed. Washed potatoes in particular have to be gone within a week. The DCA Indicative Price this week is €30 per tonne. The demand for brewers' grains remains quite strong, but according to some insiders you have to try a little harder to place everything that becomes available. The DCA Indicative Price for brewers' grains is therefore taking a step back to €3,60 per percent dry matter.