Hay Matters

In this Summer Series episode of the Hay Matters Podcast, brought to you by LocalAg and Feed Central, host Jon Paul Driver chats with Megan Ford about her path into agriculture, the growth of Feed Central, and the changing role of women in the industry.

Megan reflects on the early days of building a business alongside her husband Tim while raising a young family, sharing the realities of juggling growth, family life, and big ideas. From kitchen-table planning and conversations on the go, to moments that tested resilience, this episode offers an honest look at what it takes to build something lasting.

Listeners will hear about the pivotal 2014 hay shed fire and how strong family, team, and community support helped shape Feed Central’s future. Megan also highlights the impact of women’s networks such as the Queensland Rural Women’s Network and Australian Women in Agriculture, and how mentorship and connection have supported leadership and confidence along the way.

The conversation also unpacks the thinking behind LocalAg—a platform developed over years of listening to farmers and customers, designed to reflect how producers want to do business today: with flexibility, transparency, and trust at the core.

A thoughtful and inspiring episode about resilience, relationships, and evolving agriculture in Australia.

In this episode of Hay Matters, host Jon Paul Driver chats with Marty Conroy, Agronomy Services Lead for Northern Australia at Barenbrug Seeds. From Northern NSW, Marty provides a practical look at tropical pasture systems across Queensland, the NT, and northern NSW. He unpacks the science behind C3 and C4 grasses, explains how feed quality drives profitability, and highlights the untapped potential of pasture management and modern breeding programs.

Marty explains how pasture breeding is now focused on fibre quality, seasonal fit, and regional adaptability. C4 grasses like Rhodes and panicum are critical in northern systems, with planting tied to rainfall and temperature windows. Feed quality is key to intake, weight gain, and financial returns.

The episode also explores accelerated breeding through genomic tools, underutilised C4 pasture management strategies, strategic input use such as nitrogen, and the importance of benchmarking paddock performance year-on-year to make smarter decisions in unpredictable seasons.

In this Summer Series episode of Hay Matters, Tim Ford and Grower Services Manager, Steve Page, revisit one of the most unique fodder stories we’ve come across — the unearthing and marketing of four- to five-year-old haylage buried in underground pits near Warren, NSW. This episode follows the full journey: from the moment new property owner Pat Hull realised he had up to 1,000 tonnes of haylage hidden beneath mounds on his driveway, to uncovering the pits, testing the feed, and successfully selling it to Victorian dairy farms through LocalAg.

Steve first sets the scene, explaining how Pat discovered the buried forage sorghum bales left by the previous owner, who had sealed them underground during the exceptional 2020 season. When tight feed supplies hit southern Australia, Pat decided it was time to dig them up. The results were surprising — despite years underground, the haylage tested extremely well, with strong protein, energy and fibre readings. With quality confirmed, the product was listed on LocalAg, attracting interest from buyers across VIC and SA, all while avoiding the hassle of endless phone calls and unvetted enquiries.

Listeners also hear from Ben Wright of Central West Contracting, the contractor who originally cut, conditioned, raked, baled and buried the haylage. Ben explains the conditions in 2019–20, how the crop was made into haylage due to cooler winter weather, the bale specifications used, and why buried feed can remain in top condition even decades later. Together, Pat and Ben offer a full picture of how buried haylage works, its value as a drought-proofing strategy and how modern tools like LocalAg make marketing niche products simpler than ever.

In the final Hay Matters episode of the season, host Steve Page sits down with Tim Ford, Managing Director of Feed Central and LocalAg, to reflect on an eventful year for the fodder industry. They unpack the challenges and opportunities across regions, discuss how the Feed Central and LocalAg partnership has evolved, and share insights on what 2026 might hold for hay growers, traders, and buyers across Australia.

1. A Year of Change and Growth

• Feed Central and LocalAg have formally separated their Quality Assurance and Marketplace functions, creating independence and clarity for clients.
• The focus moving forward is helping farmers understand how both arms work together to improve transparency and trust.

2. A Tough but Rewarding Season

• Southern regions faced weather damage and tough conditions, while Central and Northern NSW and Southern Queensland enjoyed exceptional hay quality and yields.
• Modern cropping techniques are producing strong results despite low rainfall — proof of innovation in the industry.

3. Diversity Builds Resilience

• Successful growers are those who diversify — balancing hay, grain, pulses, storage, and even transport.
• Flexibility in switching between hay and grain helps spread risk and manage volatile markets.

4. Quality and Trust Drive Profit

• Feed Central’s Quality Assurance System ensures consistency in testing and grading — giving buyers confidence and helping sellers achieve premium prices.
• A recent standout sale of vetch hay highlighted how quality, testing, and transparency lead to win–win deals.

5. Technology Meets Relationships

• The new LocalAg platform allows direct communication between buyers and sellers, backed by Feed Central’s support team and Check Vault secure payments.
• Relationships remain central — technology enhances, not replaces, the trust built in the paddock.

6. Market Volatility and the Road Ahead

• 2025 has been one of the most volatile years in 25 years of hay trading.
• Tim predicts record hay prices again in 2026, driven by inevitable dry spells and unprepared buyers.
• The aim for the coming year: education, stability, and better-informed trading across the industry.

In this episode of Hay Matters, recorded on Thursday 16 October 2025, Cara Stewart steps in as guest host to chat with Feed Central’s Grower Services Manager and Podcast Host, Steve Page and National Sales Manager, David Clothier. Between Steve’s time on the road inspecting new season hay and Dave’s work connecting buyers and sellers across Australia, they bring an on-the-ground look at what’s happening in the hay market right now.

From the standout quality in southern Queensland to the first vetch crops ever inspected west of Goondiwindi, this episode unpacks the season’s early results, key market movements, and what both growers and buyers should be planning for in the months ahead.

Key Topics Covered:

• Early results from the 2025 hay season across Queensland and New South Wales
• Record-quality cereal and vetch hay and the first inspected lots from Western Australia
• How strong hay-to-grain gross margins are influencing grower decisions
• National inspection results: 22,000 tonnes tested and graded through Feed Central
• Market trends as buyers restock after starting the year with “empty cupboards”
• Pricing realities for shedded hay versus paddock stacks
• The importance of feed testing, visual grading, and on-farm inspections
• How proper stacking, sheds, and hay caps protect product and maximise returns
• Short-term and long-term market outlook, including livestock demand and export interest
• Practical advice for both buyers and sellers navigating a busy season

Why Listen? This episode offers a grounded look at the new season’s realities - from paddock conditions to price dynamics. Whether you’re producing, storing, or buying hay, you’ll find practical insights to help make informed decisions this season. It’s an honest conversation about quality, supply, and the smarter ways to market and manage your hay in 2025.

In this follow-up episode, Steve Page continues his conversation with award-winning lucerne hay producer Wade Alexander from Mundubbera, QLD.

Wade opens up about the tough lessons learned from the 2013 floods, his approach to risk management, and how he’s future-proofing his family farm through smart planning, water efficiency, and sound financial strategies.

🌾 Key Topics Covered:

• Floods, storms and lessons learned: How the Alexanders rebuilt stronger after disaster struck.
• Insurance and risk management: The value of insuring for the worst and learning from the past.
• Efficient irrigation and rising power costs: Why Wade is transitioning from high-pressure pivots to low-pressure laterals.
• The economics of lucerne: Balancing high machinery costs, input efficiency, and quality production.
• Lucerne establishment and management: Soil prep, fertiliser programs, and why Wade replants every three years.
• Marketing through Feed Central and LocalAg: Building trust, ensuring secure payments, and staying connected to repeat buyers.
• Family, work-life balance, and resilience: Why Wade chooses life on the farm over high-income work away from home.

🎙️ Why Listen

This episode delivers a grounded look at what it takes to survive and thrive in Australia’s hay industry. Wade shares the reality behind producing premium lucerne - from irrigation and power costs to marketing and resilience - offering practical insights for farmers of any scale.

In this first of a two part series of Hay Matters, Steve Page speaks with Wade Alexander from Mundubbera, Queensland - the winner of the Queensland Visual Lucerne Hay Award and the National Dual Visual Award.

Wade shares his journey from growing up on a poultry farm to becoming a lucerne hay producer. After floods devastated his family’s property in 2013, Wade rebuilt with a new focus on irrigation and hay production, leaning on his engineering background to master the machinery and systems needed to survive.

Key Topics Covered:

• Wade’s shift from poultry and cattle to lucerne hay
• The role of irrigation bores and Mundubbera’s unique conditions
• Machinery choices: from round balers to big square bales
• Building a customer base and working with Feed Central
• Weather challenges in Queensland and how Wade manages risk in hay production
• Using inoculants and moisture management to maintain hay quality
• The importance of off-farm income and contracting to spread financial risk
• Forward planning, financial management, and why storage doesn’t always equal “money in the bank”
• Wade’s mindset on risk, resilience, and what keeps him motivated each morning

Why Listen?

This episode is full of practical insights for farmers navigating hay production and trade - from managing machinery and weather challenges to making financial decisions that reduce risk. Wade’s story is a testament to resilience, innovation, and the value of producing quality hay that customers can trust.

Next Episode (Part 2): Wade will share how he manages disasters, his lucerne planting cycle, and future plans for his farming operation.

PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS

In this episode of Hay Matters, brought to you by Local Ag and Feed Central, Steve Page continues celebrating this year's National Hay Quality Award winners with another outstanding partnership. In the Riverina, Michael Pfitzner has secured back-to-back vetch hay Visual Awards – the National winner last year and NSW State winner this year, working closely with contractor Wayne Williams to achieve consistently exceptional results. Their collaboration showcases the precision timing and equipment choices that separate award-winning hay from the rest of the field.

● Michael and Drew Pfitzner operate 3,400 hectares (8,500 acres) of cropping in the Riverina with vetch comprising 10-12% of their rotation alongside other legumes including lupins, lentils and peas.

● Their award-winning vetch hay achieved 3-4 tonne per hectare yields across multiple paddocks, with the state award-winning lot stored under hay caps in the paddock and successfully avoiding rain damage.

● Wayne Williams uses a Claas 930 with triple 10-meter mowers cutting 50 acres per hour, followed by a 10-meter merger for windrow management and a New Holland 1290 HD baler with loop knot system producing 650kg bales.

● Strategic use of silage inoculant proved crucial when September weather turned challenging, with only 20 out of 1,000 bales showing heat issues after rain events that required re-working the windrows.

● Michael has used the Local Ag Marketplace platform and likes that it provided secure payment systems and is creating trusted buyer-seller relationships through built-in messaging and transparent transaction processes.

● Machinery ownership challenges drive contractor relationships, with Wayne’s specialised equipment including merger technology capable of combining 2-5 windrows and shifting material up to 30 feet in single passes for optimal bale density.

● Wayne had a devastating shed fire last year that destroyed 1,000 tonnes of lucerne-sorghum mix hay after seven weeks in storage, highlighting critical insurance lessons with shed values nearly doubling during the four-year period since construction.

In this episode of Hay Matters, brought to you by LocalAg and Feed Central, Steve Page catches up with two of our 2025 National Hay Quality Award winners - Grant Alday and Ben Wright. At Sea Lake in Northwest Victoria, grain grower Grant turned a challenging frost-damaged season into profitability by pivoting to hay production, earning both National Cereal Hay Feed Test and Visual awards. Meanwhile, contractor Ben Wright from Central West Contracting shares insights into achieving the National Heaviest Cereal Straw Bale award and the equipment strategies behind consistent, high-density bale production.

• Grant Alday's mixed farming operation at Sea Lake typically dedicates 8-10% of area to oat hay and another 8-10% to vetch, but last season's widespread frost damage prompted an opportunistic shift to cut hay across multiple paddocks.
• The decision to cut frost-damaged crops for hay transformed what would have been a break-even season into a profitable one, with over 9,000 bales produced compared to their typical 4,000-6,000 bale annual output.
• Strategic hay cutting eliminated harvest headaches by removing problematic regrowth areas and avoiding the challenge of blending mature grain with frost-damaged sections, particularly in lower-lying paddocks with retained moisture.
• Chemical withholding periods became a critical timing consideration, with fungicide applications creating mandatory waiting periods before hay cutting could commence on treated paddocks.
• Ben Wright's national heaviest cereal bale award-winning wheat straw averaged 14.2% moisture and was produced using an eight-string Krone baler, achieving bale rates of up to one every 20 seconds in optimal conditions.
• Eight-string balers offer some advantages over six-string models through improved durability, fewer string breaks, heavier bale weights for better storage efficiency, and reduced transport costs per tonne.
• Ben's two eight-string Krone balers each process 15,000-20,000 bales annually, with comprehensive yearly maintenance programs focusing on VFS systems, knotters, and bushes to maintain peak performance.

Podcast Highlights

In the latest episode of Hay Matters, brought to you by LocalAg and Feed Central, Steve Page catches up with Harry Divall; hay contractor, grower and AFIA board member. Harry shares his path from livestock work in Goulburn to running a growing hay operation across West Wyalong, Stockinbingal, and Crookwell. He shares the ups and downs of learning how to make quality hay, how he manages seasonal risk, and what he hopes to contribute to the fodder industry.

• Harry left school early and started fencing and working cattle near Goulburn before setting up a mixer on the family farm to boost weight gains in steers and heifers
• Cold conditions limited hay production at home, so his family expanded west and bought their first baler, a Massey 2270XD, in 2016
• He now operates two Krone balers and produces between 15,000 and 25,000 bales a year, depending on the season
• With farms spread across Goulburn, Stockinbingal and West Wyalong, he uses geography to manage weather risk and extend the cutting window from September to January
• Crop rotations include oats, barley and vetch out west, with canola, oats, barley and lucerne on the Stockinbingal farm
• Harry adjusts his plan each year, converting crops to silage or grain when conditions aren’t right for hay
• Shed storage now holds over 2,000 bales, but he’s also experimenting with tarping, aiming to protect quality from the bottom up
• As a new AFIA board member, Harry wants to make learning resources more visual and hands-on, helping others see what good practice looks like in the paddock