Fodder prices hold up, despite widespread rain

While only a cost for many producers when addressing feed shortages during slow pasture growth periods and drought, fodder costs can indeed become significant for some businesses at times. Considering the extended widespread drought over the past few years for large swathes of Australia, it has been one of those times.

Interestingly, as reported by the Australian Fodder Institute Australia (AFIA) on behalf of Dairy Australia, new crop growth across the country is off to a relatively good start in the first month of winter, and while the market eased somewhat this week, prices have held up considering the widespread rainfall.

In northern Australia, despite the cooler weather, good rainfall over the past few weeks has encouraged paddock feed growth across many livestock producing regions. As a result, demand for hay is reportedly easing, as many producers now have more confidence for the winter months ahead.

In southern Australia, there is reasonable pasture availability across large parts of Victoria, with most areas reporting a fairly good start to winter. Some northern areas of the state have reported conditions are too wet, however. Supplies of hay in SA are plentiful, which saw a slight increase in prices this week due to demand from surrounding states. AFIA & Dairy Australia suggest that demand for purchased fodder is strongest in Tasmania, due to limited supply.

In WA, the earlier than usual start to the cropping season, coupled with good pasture availability, has lifted producer sentiment. Hay prices remain buoyant due to low volumes on offer across the state, however this reportedly presents minimal concern to producers and therefore the market is expected to stay relatively stable over the coming weeks.

While the past few years has seen heightened fodder demand for many producers, the fruition of the forecast La Nina may be enough to relieve the cost for many for the remainder of the year.

For the full report from Dairy Australia & AFIA, please click here.