Feed prices are relatively steady despite merchants reporting increased sales during October as farmers react to fodder shortages, higher milk prices and a solid demand for beef cattle.

Several feed companies indicate that mills are working at full capacity to meet demand. Grain prices continue to edge upwards, with barley selling for £165 to £168/t, delivered on farm. Wheat prices are running around £7/t higher than barley.

Maize meal is holding reasonably steady around £175 to £180/t. Soya hulls have seen demand rising quickly as farmers use the feed to replace or stretch fodder supplies.

Hulls were in limited supply due to weather issues in key production areas in the USA. Current spot prices have soya hulls priced around the £175/t mark. However, some merchants report that supplies coming on to the market are beginning to increase.

With limited availability of soya hulls, sales of sugar beet pulp and citrus pulp have increased, with prices at £168 and £165/t respectively. Soya is steady around £295/t, with distillers unchanged on £180/t.

Compound rations have seen small price increases this month. High maize beef finishing rations are priced around £200/t, with 16% growing rations moving at £205 to £210/t. Dairy rations (20% protein) are selling from £220 to £225/t.

Feed deliveries

Concentrate feed volumes delivered to farms in NI totalled 791,600t from January to August of this year, an increase of nearly 9% on the 727,000t in the same period in 2016.

Within the overall 2017 figure, dairy rations totalled 495,000t, compared to 461,000t in the previous year.