THE weather continues to throw many challenges at hay makers.

Hot conditions initially prevented baling, with insufficient moisture in many windrows. Subsequent rain has stopped baling and damaged hay.

The availability of damaged hay could have a lasting impact on the hay market.

Demand for hay is currently low but when sellers release hay next year, prices could be pulled down due to lower quality.

Prices for cereal and pasture hay are unchanged.

Vetch hay is trading at $230-$250 a tonne into the Goulburn Valley or $260-$280 a tonne delivered to East Gippsland.

Hay buyers in both South Australia and Victoria have noticed higher fibre levels as measured by either ADF or NDF.

One view is that there has been a build-up of soil nitrogen over recent dry seasons and the wet winter has permitted nitrogen to contribute to higher production and fibre deposits.

Exceptions to this are the oaten and wheaten hay crops of the Mallee, which struggled to gain a full profile of moisture during the growing season.

Reports of high hay yields are coming to light.

Pasture hay and silage in the Heywood and Koroit areas yielded from five to seven tonnes of dry matter per hectare.

Vetch hay crops in the Wimmera have been cutting up to four to six tonnes per hectare, while oaten hay crops cut an average of six tonnes. Reports of some higher yields have come from higher-rainfall areas such as Avoca and Benalla, where oaten hay crops have yielded from 11 to 13 tonnes a ha.

Good yields of hay and silage have been reported in West and South Gippsland. Those paddocks that were shut up for hay in July performed well. However many paddocks shut up in October failed to produce sufficient bulk for fodder.

There are many paddock stacks of large square bales that have been exposed to rain. The top bales will be graded lower as they have shielded the lower bales.

When these and other bales are stacked together, the risk of spontaneous combustion increases.

Bales that have become wet after baling, or more particularly bales that were baled wet in the first place, pose a high fire risk.

Authorities say the highest risk for hay fires occurs two to eight weeks after baling.

Storage secure from rainfall, monitoring and awareness are needed to minimise fire.