Almost 900 hay bales sold for an average of €22/bale at an on-farm auction in Co. Wexford this week, with local demand being driven by a spell of dry weather across the south-east.

The sale, which took place yesterday (Monday, July 20) in Banogue and was conducted by Quinn Property, saw prices range from €20-€24/bale.

Speaking to Agriland, auctioneer David Quinn stated that the final outcome exceeded expectations, particularly given his concerns over demand in the lead-up to the sale.

He said: "We would have been thinking a week beforehand that we'd be around the €20 mark and maybe struggling to get customers to buy it all.

"But the dry week down here in the south-east probably made a few more lads turn out to buy a bit of hay because the grass has gone very tight in this part of the country.

"The sale averaged a couple of euros over what we were expecting in the end and we had customers for it all."

Hay auction

Quinn outlined that all of the hay bales sold came from the one farm, which is set to be auctioned off next month.

He estimated that the sale drew roughly 30 prospective buyers on the day.

According to Quinn, most of the customers were local farmers within a 10km radius of the Gorey area.

In comparison to prices seen last year, he claimed that hay bales are roughly €10 cheaper this year, with prices reportedly ranging from €30-€35/bale in 2025.

Fodder supplies

When speaking to farmers at the auction, Quinn noted that recent weather has raised slight concerns regarding fodder supplies, despite what had been a strong silage and hay-making season.

He said: "There were fairly high levels of silage and hay made over the last few weeks, but what I think has changed the sentiment a little bit is the continuing dry spell and heat, which is not conducive with grass growth.

Quinn also recognised that there is still confidence that fodder stocks will be sufficient if weather conditions improve over the coming weeks.

He commented: "If we get back to growing conditions in the next week or two, I don't think there'll be any issue; and there'll be plenty of fodder.

"But if this dry spell drags on into the middle of August, a good bit of the winter fodder that has been earmarked will be used."

Looking ahead

In addition to this, Quinn said that the direction of the hay market will depend almost entirely on rainfall and grass growth as well.

"If the weather changes and grass growth comes back, I think demand will be very sluggish.

"If the opposite happens and this dry period continues, demand will harden.

"The weather is going to dictate the market over the rest of the summer," the auctioneer added.