The Australian Fodder Industry Association has launched a page on its website, listing available sources of fodder, in response to inquiries from livestock producers experiencing dry conditions who are concerned about securing fodder supply.

AFIA chief executive officer Paula Fitzgerald said the association was aware that producers in South Australia, south-west Victoria and south-east New South Wales were experiencing dry autumn and winter conditions.

“For now, we believe there is fodder available and the challenge appears to be matching those in need with those who have supply, however, we encourage people to act now to secure supply and consider their stocking levels,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“While AFIA understands the challenges that dry conditions and a lack of feed present, we find it disappointing that we are yet again at this point, where fodder is only in the spotlight because of non-ideal conditions.”

At the end of 2023 AFIA undertook a Fodder R,D&E Stocktake which identified a number of potential solutions to this cyclical approach – solutions which recognised fodder as a national resilience tool that could be used to create opportunities to break this cycle.

“Despite significant Government funds being allocated to drought preparedness and resilience, we believe the critical role of fodder is still being overlooked on a national level,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

“Over the course of the last three months we have engaged with a number of entities across the country to discuss the Stocktake Report findings,” she said. “There is overwhelming support for the findings, yet these solutions remain unaddressed.”

AFIA said it believes there are significant opportunities to:

• Incentivise growers to make hay in ‘good times’ in preparation for non-optimal conditions.
• Invest in learning opportunities to help producers understand the ‘best recipe’ for curing hay, producing a high-quality (nutritional) product, and optimising storage.
• Develop an all-of-production cycle approach to identify risk management tools to put an end to hay fires and associated continually rising insurance bills.

“We need to be focussed on fodder in the good times, rather than only in dry or crisis times,” Ms Fitzgerald said.

The new AFIA hay supply listing webpage (click here to access) lists hay and fodder by state/region, fodder type and vendor, with contract details provided. It will be updated weekly, each Friday.

For those wishing to subscribe, a weekly email of current listings can be provided.

AFIA encourages all farmers to source supply as early as possible and/or review stocking levels. It also encourages all buyers to secure a feed test before making purchasing decisions.