Cost of hay doubles as cattle prices drop in NSW

Mr Paterson, a Heart Angus Stud farmer with about 400 head of cattle at Timbumburi, is one of many producers being hit by the high cost of hay as the price of sheep and cows plummets.

"Cattle prices are about a third of what they're worth," Mr Paterson, who is also a stock and station agent, said.

Scott McDonald, co-owner of McDonald Brothers Transport in Nemingha, said the cost of hay has doubled from about $200 to $300 a tonne last year to $400 to $600 a tonne this year, depending on quality.

"There's a bit of local crop hay being cut but there's not a lot of that that's being made and it's double the price of last year," Mr McDonald said.

"So we've got to bring it in from other areas, South Australia, southern New South Wales and Victoria.

"And the big difference between now and the [2019] drought is the higher fuel prices and no freight subsidy."

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Mr McDonald said the resumption of South Australian hay exports to China has also pushed the price of premium hay upwards of about $100 a tonne.

"Everybody's margins have fallen and all their costs have gone up," Mr McDonald said, citing increased expenses for truck parts, oil and vehicles adding to the end cost for farmers buying hay.

Wallamore Grading and Packaging owner Simon Ware said he has heard of sheep being sold at the sales for about $2 a head, which was substantiated by Nutrien's Joel Flemming, who said lamb was being sold for less than that price in some areas.

"The biggest and quickest relief for sheep and cattle farmers will be rain because their stock will be profitable to sell," Mr Flemming said.

"It won't be the feed coming down drastically, it'll be the price of their stock going up, that'll be their first relief."

With large swathes of north-eastern NSW being declared drought-affected by the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), and the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) announcing an official El Nino on September 19, it has many people worried there'll be another drought ahead.

However, the BoM's senior climatologist Hugh McDowell said while it will be up to the NSW government to determine the drought status, an El Nino does not always lead to drought.

"It has more of an effect on temperatures, and an effect on rainfall in the winter and spring months, which often leads to dry winters and springs, but has less of an impact in the summer," Mr McDowell said of the El Nino.

"So as we move into summer, we could see something closer to average [for rain]."

Mr McDowell said below average rainfall has hit the New England North West and Liverpool Plains from January to the end of August, and that the trend is expected to continue through the rest of the year.

However, he said it's still "50-50" as to whether or not the region receives an average dose of rainfall from November to January.

"So, it's kind of positive news that we could see something more normal," Mr McDonald said.

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