Cereal hay prices in Central West NSW have jumped as much as 35 per cent since January.
It comes as drought conditions across northern NSW force graziers into early winter feeding and triggered heavy livestock sell-offs.
Pressure has built across northern NSW, where producers facing one of the driest starts to the year on record moved quickly to protect carrying capacity and retain core breeding stock ahead of winter.
The Australian Fodder Industry Association’s latest hay report showed Central West NSW cereal hay was at $330- $420 a tonne in mid-May, up from $245-$345 a tonne in January, while delivered prices for higher-quality Victorian hay had pushed towards $600 a tonne once freight was included.
Darling Downs lucerne prices also increased, with the bottom end of the market climbing 33 per cent from $450 a tonne to $600 a tonne since January.
AFIA director and Jerilderie NSW fodder producer Louis Kelly said good quality cereal hay was commanding as much as $700 a tonne in northern NSW, but a big factor was the freight component.
Mr Kelly said he had already sold all of his oaten hay for around $400 a tonne on farm. He said the market could become even dearer as cold weather took hold in northern areas and producers tried to retain core breeders.
“There are concerns the market could get to $800 a tonne for clover hay, like it did in August last year, and it is only on $450 to $500 a tonne now, and if that happens there is no joy in it for anyone,” he said.
Farmer Matthew Madden from Moree in NSW said the number of hay trucks on the road was a visual indication of demand for fodder in the north of the state. “We need rain, we are hoping for 20mm this week,” he said on Monday.
Mr Madden said farmers were seeking cereal hay from further south, but they were also turning to closer options such as sorghum stubble.
“It is not quite like the 2019 drought, but we are seeing farmers look for closer options,” he said.
● Trade looks to the north, Page 57