Growers 'depend on good straw price to make a margin'

Spring barley harvest is well under way in the south of the country this week and demand for straw is steady.

A farmer in east Cork who expects to have his cereal harvest fully wrapped up by this weekend spoke to the Irish Farmers Journal, saying that straw prices are reflective of the market.

“I’ve got €28/bale for bigger loads and €30/bale for smaller loads. Spring barley is only yielding six bales to the acre – that’s back 15% or 20%. If you’re not getting north of €25/bale, you’re better off chopping it,” the man said this week.

A south Tipperary farmer said his straw is trading at €25/bale.

“I’m getting €25 for it so far and hopefully it’ll last. I’ve the usual customers taking the usual amounts. I was only getting €20/bale for the oaten straw so I chopped the whole lot of it and now I have people looking for it. It’s a fickle market,” the farmer said.

Meanwhile, in west Waterford, demand is strong and base prices of €30/bale have been set.

“It’s bad enough to be taking a robbing [on] grain price, we can’t be getting fleeced for straw. A lot of growers will be depending on straw to make a margin. There’s not going to be a lot of margin in winter barley this year,” the Waterford farmer said.