Victorian hay-shed construction has surged off the back of a record 2019 fodder harvest. 

Growers in the Wimmera and southern Mallee are leading the charge, investing in infrastructure to protect the quality of their hay.

Hay-shed sales at Entegra, one of the region’s largest shed construction businesses, is on track to double this season.

Since January, Entegra has sold 65 percent of the total amount of hay sheds it sold in 2019.

Hay-shed construction is the fastest-growing business category for Entegra, which manufactures all types of agricultural and industry sheds. 

General manager Laurie McCalman said many farmers had so much hay at the end of last harvest they stacked them 10-bales high in paddocks.

“This has been an incredible turnaround in a region which had gone through severe drought and then a flood during the 2018 harvest,” he said.

“This past season, record prices encouraged hay production and now it is flowing through to on-farm investment.” 

Warracknabeal grower Travis Penny is among farmers to have recently bought a new hay shed.

“Hay’s an important part of our operation now and if you’re going to go to the expense of doing hay, you’ve got to store it well,” he said.

“The market price fluctuates and with our latest hay shed, we’ll be able to better maintain the quality of our hay and have more options.”

Mr McCalman said pre-engineered structural hay sheds that could store from 1000 to 2500 bales had been the most popular in the region, due to the large volumes of hay produced. 

“Farmers want their sheds installed faster and thanks to the introduction of the kits, this has been possible,” he said.

“We were able to install a record number of sheds before they were needed for vital hay storage.” 

Mr McCalman said customised hay sheds had also been popular with growers. 

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