COLLAPSED hay stacks decimated by mice are a sad sight across southern NSW this season.
With mice attacking everything from baling twine to silage wrap, growers were urged to check the condition of their fodder before feeding it to stock.
Department of Primary Industry technical specialist grain services, Peter Matthews, Orange, said hay contaminated by mice would be of much lower quality and carry a disease risk for livestock.
AGnVET agronomist, Tim Stivens, Junee, said some growers would start cutting cereal crops and canola for hay and silage in the next fortnight, as they needed to replenish their fodder reserves after suffering total hay stack wipeouts from mice damage.
Further west, AGnVET agronomist, Andrew Barber, Ganmain, said after substantial mice damage, many growers were burning contaminated hay and silage.