Pacific Seeds territory manager Dan Rolls (left) and summer grains agronomist Chris Gillam (right) with Barooga farmer Josh Wright and his irrigated crop of the new high-yielding PAC500 variety which will be harvested in autumn for sale into the feed corn market. Photo: Pacific Seeds

PRICES for corn, faba beans, and lupins have firmed on up-country demand for supplementary livestock feed.

This reflects ongoing dry conditions in New South Wales and Victoria, as well as the market’s realisation that the supply of new-crop corn will be down.

Barley and sorghum prices have also kicked this week on the back of solid export demand, while wheat values have shown little movement.

Table 1: Indicative prices in Australian dollars per tonne.

Drought buying creeps north

Feedlots and other volume domestic consumers have ratcheted up their buying of feedgrain in response to increased competition flrom graziers.

While far from a volume market, those with livestock on the New England, Central West slopes and plains, and points in between are showing increased interest in corn, lupins, and faba beans.

Adding to the firmer tone in the stockfeed market is growers who are increasingly reluctant to out-turn any barley held on farm, either because they expect a drought market to develop, or because they might need to feed it out themselves.

In the northern cropping zone, Central Queensland has had the best of recent rain, and sorghum is being planted on time into a full, or close to it, subsoil moisture profile.

Elsewhere, conditions are unusually dry in the summer-dominant rainfall regions of southern Qld and northern New South Wales.

At Narrabri, AgVantage Commodities broker Brendon Warnock said the impact of a drier-than-forecast spring running into summer is being felt.

“It’s been a pretty tough period; that hot, dry, and windy weather has particularly knocked around the dryland cotton crop,” Mr Warnock said.

“Sorghum went in early and came through okay.”

Mr Warnock said the north has seen limited export demand for wheat and barley to date, but domestic consumers are looking for both.

“There’s inquiry from buyers on barley, and it’s being pretty tightly held.”

Growers chasing fertiliser have been happy to sell a load or two of chickpeas to catch the last of the current cargoes, which will close off mid-February.

Equivalent values for chickpeas delivered northern NSW or Goondiwindi packer are around $565/t, a little stronger than has been seen in recent months, and a reasonable sell for growers chasing urea or phosphates for planting.

“Backloading fertiliser is good for freight rates.”

Mr Warnock said No. 2 faba bean values have firmed a little to around $380/t ex farm Narrabri on rising demand centred on the northern NSW tablelands.

“The main grain people are looking for in the west is lupins, albus or narrow-leaf.”

Lupins are the preferred feed for sheep, and are being sourced from Gilgandra south with ex farm values at $580/t for albus lupins, and $630/t for narrow-leaf.

“Lupins have seen an appreciation.”

Northern corn values are up to around $450/t ex farm northern NSW from more like $400/t in November.

“They’re up to old-crop values.”

That reflects yields being a little lower than expected, and the growing demand for corn in the south.

Corn values jump in south

The southern corn market has risen around $50/t in the past month ahead of new-crop becoming available in volume from mid-March.

The Goulburn Valley market is quoted at $550/t delivered, and the rally points to the fierce conditions of this summer, and a smaller-than-average corn planting to reflect expensive temporary water, and prices at planting time of around $350/t.

Dry conditions in much of southern NSW have lifted feed barley values into the Port Kembla market to around $10/t or more above export parity.

“Barley’s holding up pretty well,” Wilken Grain trader Andrew Kelso said.

Wheat prices in the southern market are feeling the weight of a large red wheat harvest in south-west Victoria, while the barley market is showing the impact of increased up-country demand from those with livestock to feed.

“In western NSW, Vic and into South Australia is dry; we don’t have subsoil moisture.”

Mr Kelso said dry conditions have made some growers uncertain about selling anything that might be used for feed.

However, canola and lentils are moving in reasonable volume as exporters battle the stronger Australian dollar.

“Exporters are trying to drag the bid side back on currency.”

Pinion Advisory Horsham-based broker Andy Brown said the recent rally in the canola market is drawing volume from the last of the Vic harvest.

“In the southern Wimmera and Western District, we thought we were reasonably well sold when people were forecasting yields of 1.8t/ha; a lot of them had yields of 3.5-4t/ha.”

Barley is pricing at around $290/t on farm.

“It’s below that magical $300 that most people want.”

While hay stocks were replenished prior to harvest, some livestock producers are chasing supplementary feed after a very hot and dry January.

“Some sheep and dairy guys down south are starting to inquire for barley for ewes, looking to pump them up prior to joining.”