Straw Prices

ithastopay said:
Just out of interest how much have farmers in the west been paying for 4x4 bales of barley straw, delivered into the west over the past few years, excluding the very high prices paid last spring.
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It's about €10 per bale to get them delivered this far. So €15 off the field this time last year would have been €25 at your door. In early spring 2017 we were short 3 bales and they cost us €40 apiece. That was collected from 10 miles away. I'm seeing a few load coming down the N4 these days and I'm hearing about prices from €35 to €40 to your door. There wont be much bought for feeding around here this year. There's a lot of silage got and a lot of second cuts lining up very well. A neighbour has a couple of hundred bales of very good hay at €30 per bale on donedeal and all calls for it are coming from Northern Ireland and the south midlands. He has delivered loads to Cookstown and to Limerick. Hay normally moves in the very opposite direction.
 
muckymanor said:
It's about €10 per bale to get them delivered this far. So €15 off the field this time last year would have been €25 at your door. In early spring 2017 we were short 3 bales and they cost us €40 apiece. That was collected from 10 miles away. I'm seeing a few load coming down the N4 these days and I'm hearing about prices from €35 to €40 to your door. There wont be much bought for feeding around here this year. There's a lot of silage got and a lot of second cuts lining up very well. A neighbour has a couple of hundred bales of very good hay at €30 per bale on donedeal and all calls for it are coming from Northern Ireland and the south midlands. He has delivered loads to Cookstown and to Limerick. Hay normally moves in the very opposite direction.
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That's the way of it this year, west of us there's plenty of feeding being made, the farmers in the west, will be able to rebuild some feed stocks this summer and if they wish they'll maintain stock numbers, weanlings and stores prices will be back this autumn, though with the feeding available they dont have to be sold, next spring will another year and it could all change again.

I reckon the hauliers/dealers are taking more than €10/round bale. There's €30/bale going onto 8x4x3's.

It's time to consider storing straw and getting a lorry.

If either the buyer or seller could do the haulage, it would surely make more sense than a third party trying to profit too.
The only way the middle man can profit is by buying cheap or selling dear or both...
in other words, if the dealer is to profit either the buyer or seller is not happy, that's not good business long term imv.
 
ithastopay said:
That's the way of it this year, west of us there's plenty of feeding being made, the farmers in the west, will be able to rebuild some feed stocks this summer and if they wish they'll maintain stock numbers, weanlings and stores prices will be back this autumn, though with the feeding available they dont have to be sold, next spring will another year and it could all change again.

I reckon the hauliers/dealers are taking more than €10/round bale. There's €30/bale going onto 8x4x3's.

It's time to consider storing straw and getting a lorry.

If either the buyer or seller could do the haulage, it would surely make more sense than a third party trying to profit too.
The only way the middle man can profit is by buying cheap or selling dear or both...
in other words, if the dealer is to profit either the buyer or seller is not happy, that's not good business long term imv.
Click to expand...

It seems to be always the way with cattle. The cards stack up early to show signs of half middling prices (such as the export last spring or the shortage of cattle for factories in April and May) and then it goes belly up due to something that we have no control over. Then when all of the signs are for bad prices something comes along and turns it upon itself so that things aren't as bad as we thought.
Some lads in these parts are praying for good weather for the next month, and if it does come, it will be an even more memorable summer for all the right reasons. On the other hand, I was through South Roscommon last friday on the tractor and I have never seen anything like it. There are lads from the golden vale posting pictures here of drought conditions on their farms, but nothing posted here compares to land around Four Roads, Dysart, Taughmaconnell and Athleague. There was no green in sight, not even yellow, everything is white. Every field has feeders. Thousands of acres!

A lot of people are critical of the dairy farmers for overstretching. Other commentators are critical of everyone. We are after going through 2 extremes in the last 12 months. We can't blame any dairy man (or any farmer) for wanting to better his farm. Many people panicked, didn't do things rationally, sat down and cried before actually taking stock of what they had and making a plan around it. This craic with fodder prices and mark ups has being going on around here for a long time. 10 miles north of us, not many farmers are able to make enough fodder to feed their stock on an average year. This year it will be different.

It will work itself out. It will put some men out of business and other's, it will promote. We will have finished stock to slaughter at the back end. They will have to go by the end of October regardless of the price in order to make room for next years (which are already sucking cows and coming close to weaning). The wheel keeps turning. We can go with it or against it.
 
muckymanor said:
It seems to be always the way with cattle. The cards stack up early to show signs of half middling prices (such as the export last spring or the shortage of cattle for factories in April and May) and then it goes belly up due to something that we have no control over. Then when all of the signs are for bad prices something comes along and turns it upon itself so that things aren't as bad as we thought.
Some lads in these parts are praying for good weather for the next month, and if it does come, it will be an even more memorable summer for all the right reasons. On the other hand, I was through South Roscommon last friday on the tractor and I have never seen anything like it. There are lads from the golden vale posting pictures here of drought conditions on their farms, but nothing posted here compares to land around Four Roads, Dysart, Taughmaconnell and Athleague. There was no green in sight, not even yellow, everything is white. Every field has feeders. Thousands of acres!

A lot of people are critical of the dairy farmers for overstretching. Other commentators are critical of everyone. We are after going through 2 extremes in the last 12 months. We can't blame any dairy man (or any farmer) for wanting to better his farm. Many people panicked, didn't do things rationally, sat down and cried before actually taking stock of what they had and making a plan around it. This craic with fodder prices and mark ups has being going on around here for a long time. 10 miles north of us, not many farmers are able to make enough fodder to feed their stock on an average year. This year it will be different.

It will work itself out. It will put some men out of business and other's, it will promote. We will have finished stock to slaughter at the back end. They will have to go by the end of October regardless of the price in order to make room for next years (which are already sucking cows and coming close to weaning). The wheel keeps turning. We can go with it or against it.
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Any chance of cattle crossing the wrong direction over the shannon for B&B keep, or is there just enough feed without there been a surplus?
 
ithastopay said:
If either the buyer or seller could do the haulage, it would surely make more sense than a third party trying to profit too.
The only way the middle man can profit is by buying cheap or selling dear or both...
in other words, if the dealer is to profit either the buyer or seller is not happy, that's not good business long term imv.
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Or by having lower operating costs in the middle, which they most definitely will have that might be enough for their profit. Unless you can find work for your truck for the 200 other working days in the year. then its, welcome to the haulage industry for you. but it may just be an expensive way for you to add another few €€€ to your bale of straw
 
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First year ever I’d say where lads in Wexford are ringing up to Laois looking for straw and lads here are ringing west looking for silage !!!!!
I wonder could I do a back load of I went west with straw !!!
 
laoisfarmer said:
First year ever I’d say where lads in Wexford are ringing up to Laois looking for straw and lads here are ringing west looking for silage !!!!!
I wonder could I do a back load of I went west with straw !!!
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Did that not work out expensive for you last year?
 
Ozzy Scott said:
Any chance of cattle crossing the wrong direction over the shannon for B&B keep, or is there just enough feed without there been a surplus?
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Come the wet weather, grass supply will disappear fast enough. Most people will be feeding by October 1st regardless of the weather. It a long time from now till then and anything could happen. Rather than a surplus I'd say that there will be less of a shortfall in the places that would traditionally be big fodder buyers at this time of year.
 
muckymanor said:
Come the wet weather, grass supply will disappear fast enough. Most people will be feeding by October 1st regardless of the weather. It a long time from now till then and anything could happen. Rather than a surplus I'd say that there will be less of a shortfall in the places that would traditionally be big fodder buyers at this time of year.
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Jesus you must be really loving it after all the shit summers you had over the last few years. We are just not used to that kind of trials over here. I can't remember ever having to contend with shortages of grass and straw here even though we are heavily stocked. We are feeding 4 bales a day here and there's only 90 of them left. We're gone away from a short term, grass supplementation diet to a full no grazed-grass diet to keep the cows milking. They should really be getting ad lib silage but it's not there. They are still out but they may as well be on centre court in Wimbledon. We also have heifers in on a finishing diet to try and slow demand and build covers where they are. Straw yields will be way down also so that limits options when trying to stretch silage supplies.
 
6600 said:
Jesus you must be really loving it after all the shit summers you had over the last few years. We are just not used to that kind of trials over here. I can't remember ever having to contend with shortages of grass and straw here even though we are heavily stocked. We are feeding 4 bales a day here and there's only 90 of them left. We're gone away from a short term, grass supplementation diet to a full no grazed-grass diet to keep the cows milking. They should really be getting ad lib silage but it's not there. They are still out but they may as well be on centre court in Wimbledon. We also have heifers in on a finishing diet to try and slow demand and build covers where they are. Straw yields will be way down also so that limits options when trying to stretch silage supplies.
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Well this week last year we housed all of our autumn calvers. Most did not see grass until the first week in may. We have had to summer house cows on average every second year in the last 10 years. We would be able to grow all of the fodder that we need for the winter on our farm, but not too far north of us, most farmers would be buying up to 75% of fodder on a normal year. This will be much reduced this year.

Have you got enough pit silage in for to last the winter? I'm reading about lads who only have 25% of what they need for milking cows next winter. We have 80% of what we will need baled up and second cut will make up the shortfall and give us a small cushion.
 
muckymanor said:
Well this week last year we housed all of our autumn calvers. Most did not see grass until the first week in may. We have had to summer house cows on average every second year in the last 10 years. We would be able to grow all of the fodder that we need for the winter on our farm, but not too far north of us, most farmers would be buying up to 75% of fodder on a normal year. This will be much reduced this year.

Have you got enough pit silage in for to last the winter? I'm reading about lads who only have 25% of what they need for milking cows next winter. We have 80% of what we will need baled up and second cut will make up the shortfall and give us a small cushion.
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You guys are well due a break or it would be all trees up there. Great chance to clear drains etc.

Have maybe 70% of what we need if we get a long spring. Gong to do everything possible to avoid opening it. Hoping to get a good cut in September but with no rain on the horizon the chances of that will disappear if this goes on for another month. Have treated and rolled oats to feed to the dry cows and do the same with wheat also for cattle and fresh cows.

It goes to show you can take nothing for granted. A human food shortage could occur as quickly.
 
Blackwater boy said:
That just goes to show the monumental fodder crisis beginning to develop.
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I was offered 19acres of silage at the start of the year which I took. We normally make 450ish bales off of 25acres cut twice so an extra 19ac would be a lot extra, what a stroke of luck it was in the end because what we will get of a second cut isn’t worth talking about at the moment and we are currently feeding it as a buffer.
 
might aswell hold on till winter now to source feed, forage cant get much dearer than it is, and sure winter mightnt come at all, after all this.

Gold(straw) can be bought too dear :laugh:
 
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