Fodder frenzy unfolds during ‘green drought’

Talk of fodder is at the tip of everyone's tongue - they're either trying to source it to feed livestock or trying to work out how much to sell it for, but one thing is for sure everyone wishes they had more.

The fodder frenzy has been sparked by a “green drought” in south-west Victoria at a time when  some other areas are having bumper years.

This is clear to see on our online platform, where AuctionsPlus' fortnightly multi-vendor fodder sale is currently auctioning its largest ever offering - about 800 tonnes - and has attracted its highest ever catalogue views.

The catalogue had close to 3,000 unique views on Thursday, more than any previous fodder sale at it’s conclusion, indicating interest had significantly increased.

Three different agencies – from NSW localities Forbes and Finley - are offering fodder in this week’s sale, which has 60 lots, with each lot containing at least 30 bales.

The timer goes on at 4pm Monday and it will be interesting to see what prices are achieved in a market that can be difficult to analyse due to differences in quality, freight costs and individual farm needs.

The results will be published on the AuctionsPlus website after the sale.

View what's on offer in the AuctionsPlus Multi-Vendor Fodder Auction.

Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) Livestock President Scott Young said he had engaged with the Australian Fodder Industry Association (AFIA) due to concerns that there wasn’t enough fodder available in the state.

“We were assured by them that there is fodder available, but the challenge is distance and costings in accessing that fodder,” Mr Young, from Ballan in central Victoria, said.

“I don’t know there’s a national shortage, but there’s shortages in certain areas where we’ve had some dry times like South Australia, Tassie, Western Vic and Kangaroo Island.”

Mr Young said these shortages had taken many by surprise.

“Definitely in the western districts – those guys are used to a break, if it doesn’t come in March it comes in April, if it doesn’t come in April, it’s May, and if not May, it’s June, but for it not to come until mid July, that’s not normal,” he said.

“They are not as prepared as farmers who are used to tough conditions. It’s once in a generation to have those conditions down there."

As a result livestock in the south west and west had were in poorer condition than usual, so even with rain and fodder stocks, it was expected that operations would be impacted through the spring as they tried to put weight back on their breeding stock.

“There’s already talk of weaning early and putting stock into containment," he said.

It's a massive contrast to summer conditions.

“Figures were off the charts - lush green feed and huge joining percentages – that also brought challenges when it came to lambing and there was no feed," he said.

Mr Young said good rain in January giving a false sense of security, coupled with a challenging spring in 2023, had helped create the dire situation.

In response the VFF is hosting a Drought Forum at Hamilton Golf Club on Monday to help the community navigate the issue.

Mr Young said it was important that farmers were doing their numbers thoroughly and calculating the costs associated with fodder requirements.

“You need to look at 'how is it going to work for my business or do I need to look at something else?',” he said.

“If have a dry spring – do I sell lambs off as store lamb rather than finish them, same as cattle, but you need to make those decisions early.”

Mr Young said there were also areas in Victoria's North East experiencing historically low rainfall in the growing season.

The latest hay report from the AFIA showed that recent rainfall in the area had helped, but the need for fodder remained high in the region.

“Enquiries in the region have stayed fairly stable, though comments indicate the continued rainfall is dropping some urgency, but hay and fodder is still being sought and moving at large volumes in the region,” it reads.

“Lucerne, vetch and cereal hay as well as straw is being sought and supplies continue to come into the region from other parts of Victoria as well as SA and the Riverina.”