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Spot prices for barley, maize and soya continue to fall, fuelling expectations that feed mills will cut ration prices for June.
Imported barley fell by £10/t earlier this week and is now priced at £205/t. Allowing for transport, handling and margin, barley on farm will cost between £220 and £230/t, down £30/t from early April.
Barley prices are currently running well below their equivalent value last May when markets spiralled upwards to £360-380/t on farm due to the war in Ukraine.
Straights
Other key straights used in livestock feeds have also come down in price. Maize meal can be delivered on farm around £240/t, with soya delivered at around £460/t.
Soya has now fallen by £100-120/t from its peak price back in early April. Soya hulls are trading around £240/t ,with distillers costing £320/t on farm.
Rations
Where feed mills made cuts of £25 to £40/t in May, any further reduction to ration prices is likely to be small, with some indications pointing to a £5/t correction. In contrast, where smaller cuts applied in May, a £10/t price cut is more likely.
Beef finishing rations continue to trade between £330/t and £350/t, with dairy rations ranging from £380 to £400/t.
Fertiliser cut
CAN prices have dropped £10/t for the third week in a row, with the lower end of quotes now running at around £370 -375/t, although some merchants continue to quote as high as £400/t.
Farmers are therefore advised to price around before committing to any purchase. Compounds are priced around £440/t and upwards depending on the product.
Diesel
Price quotes on red diesel are holding steady at 66-67p/l excluding VAT, down 35p/l on the same month last year. Price quotes on derv range from 110p to 112p/l excluding VAT.
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