21 June 2011

Although weekend rains quenched some thirsty crops in the UK’s driest regions, the rain may be too little too late; England’s wheat yield may still be the lowest since the 80s and the dry weather has stunted grass growth, which will result in a scarcity of straw and hay for stock and bedding, impacting upon livestock and horse owners. image expired

There have been warnings that hay could become more expensive as rains came too late to help the hay harvest and in drought stricken areas, as farmers in France found earlier in the year, grass has not been growing to an extent that animals can feed off it.  

Straw prices are currently £60 per tonne for barley and £45 for wheat; prices may well increase drastically if more straw has to be transported to dry areas from those which have had more rain. Some farmers have taken to ploughing straw into their land, thereby reducing the need for fertilisers, the price of which has also rocketed.

Horse owners say they cannot afford to waste hay as the drought-affected first hay crop looks set to produce a low yield. Owners in Warwickshire have said some suppliers ran out of hay 2 months ago due to increased demand over the cold winter. Sandy Sandon, a welfare officer for the British Horse Society from Nuneaton, said “because of the shortage of rain [hay is] going to be in short supply, so next year I think we’re going to be in a worse state.”

Guy Gagen, chief arable adviser at the National Farmers Union, said a crisis could be avoided if farmers can be persuaded to take a second cut from hay meadows and bale up after harvests.