Straw

As the harvest continues, a large volume of wheaten straw is coming on to the market. There is little demand reported and more chopping is going on, especially in traditional surplus areas such as Wexford. Straw quality is also dropping due to the delay in harvesting. 4x4 bales of barley straw continue to sell at €8 to €10/bale off the field, with wheat straw selling for €7 to €9/bale. 8x4x3 bales of barley straw are selling at €15 to €17, with deals being made for poorer-quality bales and wheaten straw selling as low as €14. 8x4x4 barley straw is selling for €25 to €30/bale for high-quality bales. However, poorer-quality wheaten straw bales reportedly sell for as low as €19/bale. Tillage farmers are reported to be offered as low as €15 to €17/bale for 8x4x4 of wheaten straw, but are refusing. Transport is one thing that hasn’t dropped. It is adding €5 to €7 on to round bale prices and €3 to €6 on to larger square bales prices depending on the length of the draw. In Northern Ireland, the currency is making bales cheaper, but cashflow appears to be even tighter than in the south due to the low milk prices. Some are able to reduce haulage prices by contacting haulage companies to bring back loads. The niche market for small square bales continues to sell well at €1.80 to €2.00. Transporting of these bales is reported to cost between €3 to €6/bale around different areas of the country.

Hay

Hay still in the field is deteriorating and can be bought as low as €15/bale. Good-quality June hay continues to sell well, as the quantity of poorer quality hay coming on to the market increases and the summer comes to a close. Horse hay is selling at up to €25, as lower-quality bales from older meadows sell at €17. Small square bales sell from €2.50 to €3.

Silage

There is plenty of surplus silage around as good growth rates continue. As the silage season starts to slow down, bales continue to sell at €15 to €18/bale, with poorer-quality bales made later in the summer selling for less.

Deals have been done for whole crop over the last few weeks, although in many cases, tillage farmers are waiting until prices settle to fix prices.

Many are multiplying the estimated grain yield by the green price and adding €50 for the straw to come to an agreement. So a 4t crop of wheat at €150/t green would be €650/acre.

There have been fewer deals made for standing crops due to poor silage-making conditions, with standing crops selling as low as €35 to €40/acre.

Fertiliser deadline approaches

Merchants report continued slow sales of fertiliser. With the closing date for spreading artificial fertilisers of 15 September, most farmers have made their last application at this stage. Good grass growth has pushed up grass covers on many farms.

Price-wise, farmers were finding it easier to do deals for CAN at around the €290/t to €295/t this week. Urea is being bought for €380 to €390/t. Some cash deals for larger loads were even lower as merchants look to reduce stocks they would have to carry over the winter.

Pasture sward (27:2.5:5) is being quoted down as low as €380/t. The best price for cut sward (24:2.5:10) is €390/t. Some farmers are still reporting quotes as high as €450/t. The same variation is being seen for 18:6:12, with prices quoted from €390/t to €460/t around the country.

Looking forward, the price prospects for next spring for CAN is upwards. Current prices would see an increase to over €300/t next spring, with high Ns moving back over €400/t.