Autumn is starting to set in, but the grass hasn't completely stopped growing yet. Weather permitting, some mowing will be done to prevent the pasture from going into winter too long. The recent rain has made it a bit wet for the cows to go outside. The fact that cattle are indoors is gradually becoming noticeable in the forage trade.
There's good demand for straw, and some livestock farmers are also involved. These are often companies that buy straw year-round. However, the main demand for straw comes from bulbs. Bulb growers are busy planting and then ordering straw on demand. They are, however, critical of the length of the straw. Especially in the north of the country, where the weather was variable during the grain harvest, there's a lot of shorter straw available. French straw is preferred in that regard. The DCA Indicative Price for both wheat and barley straw is €165 per tonne. In the north of the country, prices are easily €10 higher, while a flexible customer in the south pays €10 or €15 less.
Two faces
The potato by-products market is diverse. French fry factories are not operating at full capacity, to put it mildly, and this is reflected in the supply of steam peels. "Customers are practically pulling them out of your hands," said one trader. With the closure regulations and the decline in the pig sector, few would have foreseen this a year or six months ago. Feed potatoes, wood chips, and pressed fiber from starch are readily available. Some traders still have demand for pressed fiber as a covering for corn ensilaged a few weeks ago. A lower price and easier planning more than compensate for the extra work of making and covering the silage for some customers. Fiber is also in demand as a covering for pressed pulp. According to suppliers, long waiting times are not an issue. Feed potatoes are currently mainly sold to customers who sell them as a loose by-product. This group is not very large. The DCA indicative price for feed potatoes is €30 per tonne. Demand for brewers' grains remains consistently high. The DCA Indicative Price remains unchanged at €3,90 per percent dry matter.
The trade in grass silage and maize silage is relatively quiet. Good grass silage is primarily sought in the south of the country, where drought has resulted in disappointing grass yields. The DCA indicative price for grass silage is €85 per tonne. Some livestock farmers are trying to sell the last cut they intend to mow, but there's virtually no demand for it. For maize, it's mainly livestock farmers looking for something to bridge the gap until the new maize is preserved. It's still too early for larger consignments so soon after harvest. The DCA indicative price for maize remains stable at €80 per tonne. This also includes shipments from the 2024 harvest.
Hay trade is chugging along. Every now and then, you have a customer looking for a load of grass seed hay, or a horse owner looking for meadow hay, according to traders. The DCA indicative price for grass seed hay ranges from €165 for English ryegrass to €180 for red fescue. Meadow hay is at €190 per ton.