Hay drought across NSW after wet weather hits supply, especially in New England

Feed Central regional sales manager Neville Janke said things are on the edge of being desperate with a massive demand in coastal areas and supply affected in recent seasons.

"Right now we're heading into a hay drought where we've got quite a demand still coming for hay with all the adverse conditions with rain and floods that's been down the east coast," he said.

"On the back of a low production year and then on the back of the year before being a mouse plague, we haven't seen the volume of hay in sheds."

Mr Janke said the demand had shifted this winter to the coast from the Snowy Mountains and New England range areas where frosted pasture was still providing roughage.

Regarding prices, he said there had been an increase for good quality hay with grain prices playing a part in both supply and cost.

"The higher grain prices this year will be more conducive towards grain rather than making it into hay," he said.

"That will cause a little bit more of this hay drought. You'll see with the higher grain prices will draw the hay prices higher, into a place where it's competitive in the market place for the grower."

However, he said time would tell.

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"We're in the middle of winter where we don't get any production and we're waiting to see what the vetch will come off like," he said.

"We're seeing a lot of changes with the weather that's coming around - most of those are wet changes and that doesn't leave many windows in between to make good quality hay."

Australian Fodder Industry Association vice chair Jason Palmer said prices had been the main dampener for cereal hay supply.

"It's a tough market - return and investment wise," he said.

"You know there's going to be a market come along and ... prices will come up, but even so, prices will come up and you'll get $200 to $250 a tonne for your hay.

"You can rip wheat off today and sell it tomorrow for $450 - why would you still worry about hay? The money's too easy for grain."

Mr Palmer said supply had been further limited by people not having any failed crops to cut.

For Austin McLennan from Connen Hill Lucerne, Lake Bathurst, in NSW's Southern Tablelands, his hay has been "flying out the door".

"We've never seen so much demand for round bales than we have this year," he said.

"I would have sold a rigid load or semi load every day on average for the past three weeks to a month, so it has been going quite well."

Mr McLennan produces small square bales, round bales and silage, predominately lucerne and a lucerne/rye blend, as well as some wheaten hay and oaten hay depending on the season with the majority going into the Southern Highlands, as well as the South Coast, Braidwood, Yass and Crookwell areas.

"All our better quality hay is gone and now we're into our second grade hay, but we're coming to an end with that too," he said.

"We've got quite a lot of silage still to sell - normally silage can be a little bit hard to move, but at the moment it's selling very quickly."

However, Mr McLennan said his production was down this year after wet weather last summer meant his normal number of 15,000 to 20,000 square bales produced was down to only 3000.

He said he hoped to be able to make good quality hay next season.

"Leading into this summer we've got a full irrigation dam and we're all ready to go - we're just going to be reliant on some hot weather to make hay,' he said.

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