A relatively stable market for proteins and maize allowed a number of feed merchants to cut £5/t off the price of cattle rations at the start of September.
Quotes for a 16% general purpose cattle ration are typically £215/t to £220/t for bulk orders, with smaller quantities in bulk bags costing around £5/t more.
Beef finishing rations with 50% maize are in the region of £205/t to £215/t for products containing buffers. Quotes for dairy rations start around the £240/t mark for 18% protein blends.
Quotes for lamb finishing rations range from £245/t to £255/t with pelleted feeds at the upper end of the price range.
Straights
For those buying straights, barley prices have increased with dried and rolled grain delivered on farm in the mid £170s. Dried barley bought off farm is above the £160/t mark, which is £10 to £12 higher than last year.
Prices for locally grown green barley are difficult to pin down, such is the disruption to the harvest caused by the weather, leading to varying levels of moisture and bushel weight. Elsewhere, maize meal is holding around £188/t to £190/t with gluten moving on farm at similar prices. Maize distillers is currently moving on farm around the £220/t mark.
Soya is steady around £320/t to £325/t on farm with hulls on £175/t. Sugar beet pulp is priced around £190/t to £195/t.
Cover
Merchants indicate they have plenty of forward cover in place for this winter, especially on key products such as soya and maize. This should help keep ration prices steady over the coming months.
Meanwhile, drier weather at the start of the week saw combines return to fields to resume harvesting winter wheat and start into spring barley.
Moisture contents are high, with reports of crops cut from 18% to as high as 30% over the weekend. Yields of winter wheat are exceeding expectations with reports of 3.2t/acre to 3.7t/acre.
However, there are concerns that some weather-hit spring barley crops might not meet the quality standards required at local mills. Round bales of barley straw are moving from £17 to £19, excluding transport, but enquiries remain slow.