THE supply of local oats is all but dried up, forcing on-farm prices through the roof.
Grain traders from Quirindi to Griffith have reported difficultly in tracking down supplies, and where they've found it they've paid hand over fist.
Last week traders were paying up to $400 a tonne for milling oats and $370/t for feed oats, which was $100 to $150 more than last year.
Preston Grain trader Bill Preston, Temora, paid $300/t for a load of feed oats, a load which would have cost $200/t at harvest time.
iGrain senior account manager Machallie McCormack, Crookwell, said she had been "struggling" to find feed oats in recent weeks.
She said the shortage had even caused old season grain to appear on the market.
"We're seeing a lot of 2011-12 season oats being traded," Ms McCormack said.
Croker Grain trader Graham Allen, Marrar in the Riverina, said local supply was the lowest he had ever seen.
He had been trading with interstate partners to keep up milling oats up their major client, Uncle Toby's, Wahgunyah, Victoria.
"We have had to freight our oats from Western Australia because it's available in such small quantities here," Mr Allen said.
The tight supply was due to a combination of production factors.
"For a number of years we've had smaller production brought on by the drought in the north of the state and at the same time grower's preference to graze their crops, has increased," he said.
"The prices we're paying now have been four to five years in the making."
This year the high-end stockfeed market had captured a large portion of local milling oats as well as feed oats, squeezing an already tight milling supply.
Much of last year's southern crop had also been baled due to the infestation of barley yellow dwarf virus.
Quirindi grain trader John Webster said farmers were also holding onto their feedstock, cautious of the hot, dry finish into spring which weather forecasters have been flagging for months.
He said of late he hadn't been able to source feed oats "for love nor money".
"Until those who are lotfeeding are assured of a new crop they won't release their oats," Mr Webster said.
"You just have to pay the money."
The situation should ease next year, however, with plantings well up.
Landmark agronomist Justin Tidd, Ardlethan, said plantings of milling oats had increased by 50 per cent in his area alone.
Feed oats plantings were also up, but "not necessarily to the same extent".
