SAC Rural Policy Centre

With input costs increasing across the board – feed, fuel and fertiliser – farmers need to look at ways they can protect their margins, particularly those with intensive enterprises that rely on purchased feed. This factsheet looks at the changes that have occurred and what farmers can do in response.

Feed costs have risen by between 50% and 80% over the past year. Wheat and oilseed meal prices have risen by around 50% in the last nine months. Compound feed prices have risen by around 30% over the same period. While forward purchasing at lower prices has enabled feed manufacturers to absorb part of the higher prices at least until now, current market signals suggest that livestock producers will continue to face relatively high prices for the next two to three years.