Anti-CAP clutching at straws
Near-drought conditions have left much of Britain short of fodder for livestock this year, with reduced hay and straw yields. Straw prices have jumped 20%, and hay prices by up to 40%. These price rises have prompted thefts, with 800 bales taken from one farm in Kent. A long winter could make hay and straw very valuable by the start of 2011.
Meanwhile, electricity-generating companies are building new biomass plants, and are in the market for increasing amounts of straw – spurred on by government incentives for ‘green’ energy. As the price of fertiliser rises, following oil-price trends, chopping straw for its fertiliser value will become more attractive to tillage farmers, making this agricultural commodity scarcer.
