Recently in Straw Category

Straw prices were firm at Taylor & Fletcher’s last sale of the season, but hay prices were significantly down as dry conditions allowed farmers to graze stock outside.

MF185 wheat straw bales averaged £19 each, up to £24.50 for Quadrant bales and £22 for MF2150. Conventional bales of wheat straw and spring barley both sold to £1.50 per bale.

Seeds hay averaged £28.75 for Welger D6006 bales, while Quadrant bales of meadow hay averaged £20. Conventional bales of meadow hay averaged £2.20 each, up to £3.

Only half of lots offered were sold, so for the first time the firm has created a list of lots for sale by private treaty. “This is a new venture for us which will allow farmers to find hay, straw or silage via the internet and meet the late season demand that I expect to happen due to the dry spring and farmers realising that they have not got enough forage to meet their feeding demands” said the firm’s Adrian Cannon.

Demand for big bale straw remains strong, but there appears to be less buying interest for hay, according to reports from two recent sales.

In the Cotswolds 3221 big wheat straw bales averaged £17.95 each, to a top of £24 at Tayler & Fletcher’s sale. Big bale barley straw averaged £24.26, to a top of £33, while meadow hay averaged £33 a bale.

Prices were down slightly on the firm’s November sale and Adrian Cannon said that while over 80% of straw was sold, less than half the hay on offer was cleared. “There seems to be plenty of hay around and people are thinking they’re not going to need as much as expected,” he said.

There was a similar picture at Alexanders of Huntingdon, where all the big bale straw was sold, at an average price of £18.66 each for 1300 wheat bales and £25.90 for 757 barley straw bales. Big bale meadow hay averaged £36 a bale.