October rain offers mixed rewards for broadacre croppers and while expectations for grain yields are building, hay growers are anxious about the impacts of potential follow up falls after last week’s general rain.

Although temperatures were mainly cool last week, Friday’s warmer 27C to 32C that was recorded across South Australia, NSW and the Victorian Wimmera/Mallee have promoted head emergence in oat crops and growers are broadly cutting cereal hay crops.

Most hay making regions in southeastern Australia have seen clear skies for seven days and the weekend rain has been limited to showers in the Wimmera.

Last week no rain was recorded at Deniliquin and Rochester yet Charlton recorded 2.2mm to 9am Monday and Nhill 9.2mm.

Contractors have been impressed with the massive crops they are cutting in the northern Wimmera. Their self-propelled mower conditioners are slowly making their way through the biggest crops they have seen.

Portions of some crops have lodged, given their tall 1.6m stature has been weighed down by the recent 70mm of rain, however this is not expected to be a major widespread problem.

Some growers have been caught with full sheds of last season’s hay.

Price expectations were not met and sellers are struggling to find buyers of the scale needed to clear sheds before new-crop bales hit their Wimmera paddocks.

As droughted northern grain crops have been cut for hay, prices down the east coast are taking shape.

Recently baled barley and oaten hay on the Darling Downs is offered at $540 a tonne and prices cascade below this for hay from farms further south. Online listings tell the story with cereal hay available for $460 a tonne at North Star, $450 at Moree, $350 at Coonamble and $280 a tonne at Narrandera.

This progression continues with shedded old-crop hay on the market at $250 a tonne at Jeparit, $205 at Nhill and $170 a tonne at Saddleworth in the mid north of South Australia.

Strong prices for northern fodder are also encouraging grain growers to bale stubbles for straw.

As there is a limited volume of fodder historically cut north of Dubbo and contractors are busy making hay in southern regions, grain growers on the Darling Downs and north of Narrabri in NSW are unable to source baling contractors.

Time will tell if this production will be adequate for the northern demand.