Cattle rations face another price increase of £4/t to £8/t within the next fortnight, but the limited good news for farmers is that not all merchants will be implementing a rise.

In most cases it will be applied by merchants that did not increase meal prices during September, as they had sufficient volumes of straights forward-bought, enabling them to maintain steady prices to this point.

However, with the cover provided by forward-buying running low, a number of merchants have now renewed forward price contracts.

With high demand for animal feed, prices for straights have increased. Therefore, it is difficult to avoid increasing ration prices.

Higher prices

Prices for dried barley are close on £225/t delivered on-farm, with wheat around £230/t.

Sugar beet pulp is typically £230/t, with soya hulls priced at £210 to £215/t. Soya has increased in value to £320-£325/t delivered on-farm.

Maize meal has increased to £190/t and remains extremely good value in relation to barley. Merchants have increased maize levels in rations to reduce cereal levels, which helps to keep prices down.

However, higher inclusion rates can create digestive upsets in cattle if the ration is not properly formulated, which is why many finishing rations contain products such as yeast.

Farmers mixing their own rations on-farm with increased maize levels should provide plenty of fibre in the diet, and avoid feeding more than 3kg/head at any one time.

Rations

General-purpose cattle rations at 16% protein are now priced from £218/t, rising to £235/t for a blend containing 10-12% soya.

Rations at the lower price range contain lower levels of soya and use other lower-quality protein sources to keep the end price down.

Beef finishing rations range from £220 to £230 for rations containing 40% maize. Dairy rations are typically £260-£265/t for a blend containing 20% protein.

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