The Farm Tender Hay Report – What's the Hay job doing?
- By: "Farm Tender" News
- Water & Irrigation News
- Apr 21, 2020
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What's the Hay job doing?
For the fortnight up to the 22nd of April 2020
As Paul Grayling points out below the most common question all of our sales guys are getting asked is; "what's the Hay job doing?" Well, the answer is not much, and that's been the story for some time now.
Interesting to note, from the two weeks leading up to April 22nd this year we had written 16 Sales Confirmations for Hay, for the same period leading up to April 22nd 2019 we wrote 91 Sales Confirmations. I checked out a couple of these contracts randomly and saw prices of $360/mt + GST for Wheaten Hay, $325/mt + GST for Canola Hay, $160/mt + GST for Wheat Straw and $390/mt + GST for Vetch Hay. Things have changed, and it goes to show that the domestic market for Hay is more of an opportunistic one than a consistent one, and that's not necessarily a bad thing for both sides of the fence. We all know that one Farmers gain is another Farmer's pain, and in the twinkle of an eye, that can be reversed.
The cooler weather traditionally is the time when Hay sales pick up, but that is often determined by what the Autumn has been like. A good Autumn (like this year in most places), means the demand come Winter time would be far less than if it's a tighter Autumn.
Not that this is an entertainment column, but when Hay is flying out the door, things are changing daily and these sort of reports could be done weekly. Still, like what the Footballers are going through now, it's hard to entertain when there is nothing going on. We won't do it, but the need to write this column is probably monthly.
The BOM has a positive forecast for the next three months. They say, "the three months May to July are also likely to be wetter than average for most of Australia (mostly 60–75% chance, 70–80% chance for central Australia and the WA interior). The likelihood of a wetter or drier May to July is roughly equal across the far north NT and Queensland, along the coastlines of southeast Queensland, along NSW and into eastern Victoria, and southern Tasmania". Read the whole report here.
What's happened to Hay prices over the last fortnight?
Sales of Cereal Hay traded around $220/mt
Mike sold a couple of larger parcels of good quality Header trail Barley Straw into the Snowy Mountains region for $100/mt to $110/mt ex Farm Riverina.
We go around the grounds to see what our Farm Tender Sales people have to say:
Mike Pickard - Southern Queensland based
Mike said - Sold a reasonable parcel of straw into the Snowy Mountains area taking advantage before it gets too cold Fielding a few calls from Central Queensland sussing out the market. Small amount of inquiry in South Australia starting to happen as conditions get colder. Queensland Cereal Crop planting get underway after Anzac Day. Some areas are reporting a dry crust and a little bit hesitant on kicking off too quickly. Some would like to see more rain. If the season stays dry, Hay demand could pick up again throughout the winter months
Mike said - Sold a reasonable parcel of straw into the Snowy Mountains area taking advantage before it gets too cold Fielding a few calls from Central Queensland sussing out the market. Small amount of inquiry in South Australia starting to happen as conditions get colder. Queensland Cereal Crop planting get underway after Anzac Day. Some areas are reporting a dry crust and a little bit hesitant on kicking off too quickly. Some would like to see more rain. If the season stays dry, Hay demand could pick up again throughout the winter months
Shane Ruyg - Queensland based
Shane said - Hay has been status quo from previous 2 weeks but I am seeing more enquiry recently on the protein Hay side of things. Still seeing lots of listings for Hay and Straw but we have more sellers than buyers currently, pricing has reduced dramatically with Straw but Hay has only dropped a fraction depending on the area, quality and storage.Paul Grayling - Mallee Vic based
Paul said - The most commonly asked question at the minute is " what is going on with Hay job?" The answer is not a lot at the minute, with everyone cashing in on some grass we haven't had a lot of inquiry on Hay or Straw. Some small lots of Vetch and Lucerne are slowly shifting, but Cereals and Straw are very stagnate. This won't last, as I feel once the cold weather kicks in and the growth stops people will start to look for some Hay. Jackie Elliott - South West Vic based
Jackie said - I have had few enquiries about for Hay listings since I started here at Farm Tender. Being from Southern Victoria, I am starting to feel the pattern is changing and the cold is starting to hit us. Traditionally it's a time when Hay is needed in this area. Catch you in a fortnight
For more information on selling or buying Hay contact the following:
Paul Grayling – 0447 069 082 or paulg@farmtender.com.au
Shane Ruyg – 0447 922 604 or shaner@farmtender.com.au
Mike Pickard – 0429 677 636 or mikep@farmtender.com.au
Jackie Elliott - 0400 808 550 or jackiee@farmtender.com.au
Or 1300 Farming (1300 327 646)
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