Hay and straw prices hold firm despite slower trade
© Tim Scrivener Hay and straw prices are holding firm despite slightly better supplies nationally than last year, with demand now picking up as livestock farmers plan ahead for winter.
Prices for both hay and straw show little change from recent weeks, with the average price for big bale hay at £105/t ex-farm, wheat straw at £74/t and barley straw at £89/t.
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Regional variation in prices remain significant, however. For the week ending 13 September, British Hay and Straw Merchants Association (BHSMA) figures showed hay prices ranging from £80/t in the central Midlands to £120/t in the South and South West.
Barley straw ranged from £80/t in the North to £118 in the South West and wheat straw from £63/t in East Yorkshire to £90/t in South Wales and south-east Scotland.
“Aside from East Anglia and other areas of south-east England, all regions of Great Britain have reported reasonable to good yields of hay and straw this summer,” said April Gingell, secretary at the BHSMA.
“Hay yields are better than last year, but variable across regions. There is plenty of wheat straw and although barley straw yields are down on what we would hope for, they are also better than 2025’s.”
Despite improved availability, high production costs are continuing to underpin prices, with fuel, machinery and labour adding to the cost of producing and moving hay and straw.
Trade is currently quiet, but as expected for the time of year, said Ms Gingell. “Hay is beginning to pick up now as farmers start to consider their winter feeding and bedding requirements.”
Paddy Reed, BHSMA member from Suffolk, agreed. “The market is still quiet especially for straw. We are in a better spell of weather now with the grass growing well again, but that could change, meaning hay is more in demand.
“Equally a drier spell could mean cattle are kept out for longer, slowing the straw trade further.”
