Steady straw trade for now but high feed demand expected

Plentiful supply and steady demand is keeping straw values well below year-ago levels.

In general, wheat straw yields have been good and last year’s large crop meant many merchants had good stocks in store when this year’s harvest began.

This was also a factor in standing straw sales this year, with wheat values generally in a range from £40-£65/acre, depending on region, which was down by about half on last season’s values in many cases.

Barley standing straw prices saw a similar level of reduction, with values at £60-£75/acre.   

The continuing move to min-till also means more baling is taking place and this year’s favourable harvest weather has seen fields cleared in good order at a record-breaking pace.

“There’s no massive demand at the moment but any surplus will be needed – a lot of dairy farmers are already feeding silage,” said Mark Burgoyne of Shropshire auctioneer Nock Deighton.

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Auctioneers said that vendors of straw by the acre had put a floor of £40/acre on what they would accept, otherwise they would chop the straw.  

Cheshire-based Ashley Waller holds weekly straw sales and has seen an increase in interest over the past four weeks, said auctioneer Roy Waller.

Six loads were offered this week, with barley straw making £90-£98/t, averaging £92/t. Entries were down on last year but the average barley straw price was just £3/t below the same sale last year. The firm’s January sales see about 30 loads offered weekly.

Merchants’ prices

Ex-farm prices for big square baled wheat straw were put at between £38/t and £65/t this week by the British Hay and Straw Merchants’ Association (BHSMA). This compares with a range of £45-£65/t in the same week last year.

The highest price in the range was for south-east Scotland and the lowest in south-east England.

The BHSMA commented that trade was very steady, with plentiful barley straw, but that wheat looked like being sparser.

The driver shortage and high haulage costs will be a big factor in straw values this season, said Tom Mellor of Somerset Greenslade Taylor Hunt.

This was demonstrated by some of the highest prices paid at the firm’s auctions this year being seen not necessarily for those crops with the highest expected straw yields – location played a big part.

Some farmers had forward bought significant carryover stocks of old-crop straw from merchants, said Mr Mellor.  

Big square baled barley straw this week was valued at £45-£65/t by the BHSMA, with nine of 11 regions at £50/t or higher. Small bale barley straw was put at £30-£50/t above big bale prices.

Auctioneers commented that despite the early payment of a reducing BPS, livestock and dairy farmers were cash-strapped and given that there appeared to be plentiful supply, would be unlikely to come into the market in any numbers until the autumn and winter, when the main sales get under way.