Farmer News
1 June, 2025
Farmers doing it tough as hay prices soar
FARMERS across Australia are doing it tough with hay sheds empty across the south, prices continuing to soar and hay heading north to south in a rare reversal of supply flow.
Local Ag’s latest podcast is shining the spotlight on the pressure being felt by the national hay market, with managing director Tim Ford saying farmers are doing it tough at both ends of the country.
“Flood recovery is still underway in parts of western Queensland, while many regions in South Australia and Victoria are facing one of the driest autumns on record, with empty sheds and key rainfall windows missed,” Mr Ford said.
The tough conditions have led to a rare reversal of the usual supply flow, with good quality hay moving from north to south.
While Queensland still has stock, this shift and the associated uncertainty means it’s selling faster than usual this season.
Prices continue to climb, with cereal hay pushing $400 per tonne and lucerne up to $500 per tonne.
Mr Ford said Australia was used to weather extremes but this season “seems more extreme than ever”.
Many communities are just recovering from prolonged flooding in western Queensland.
About 2000 tonnes of hay was dropped from helicopters and trucked into the flooded regions but Mr Ford said that had not made a significant impact on the fodder market.
However, the dry conditions in the south are heavily impacting on sellers, suppliers and farmers.
“There is tension in the marketplace and real anxiety about supply,” Mr Ford said.
“Southern regions like to have their autumn break by Anzac Day but that has passed and there has been no rain of significance through vast areas of South Australia and Victoria since then, which means there are zero pastures.”
Mr Ford recently toured clients’ farms in South Australia.
“It was as dry as I’ve ever seen it,” he said.
“The dust was ready to go, the soils are very fragile and the groundcover is very low.”
Southern Queensland growers have experienced a run of good seasons but Mr Ford warned against complacency.
“A level of complacency about hay supply has come into the market in Queensland but buyers need to be careful because the hay is going to slip south really quickly,” he said.
“In historical terms, we would never ship hay from Queensland south but the vast majority of South Australia and Victoria is totally exhausted of hay supply.
“You’ve got basically every shed empty. Hay in southern Queensland is going to be sold down fairly rapidly, fairly soon.”
Most of Queensland remains unaffected by recent fire ant restrictions but most loads require the correct documentation for interstate movement, particularly into South Australia.