A wet summer in many regions of the EU has meant a greater proportion of wheat is available for feed, potentially benefiting livestock farmers.
According to DairyCo there is potential for feed supplies to continue to grow into the future also, with global maize production set to breach the 1bn tonne mark for the first time.
However it notes that that figures from the HGCA in the UK in July and August 2014, show that its retail feed production was down 3% on the year, and this trend is expected to persist for the rest of the season, provided that typical weather conditions prevail.
It says lower milk and beef prices have reduced the incentive for farmers to feed cattle for higher milk yields or heavier carcase weights.
Total UK livestock numbers saw a slight increase in 2014 compared with the previous year, mainly due higher sheep numbers, but good availability of forage is expected limit demand for compound feed/cereals.
The HGCA says although grain prices are down compared with last year, the cereal incorporation rate in compound feed production is not expected to increase by a considerable amount, especially as other ingredients such as soyameal and rapemeal are also cheaper than last year.
