Feed quality...

[Telos]

Went to the feed store today and the owner stopped carrying ACCO FEEDS because he said the quality went down. Has anyone had any problems with their commercial cattle feed? Which brand do you like best and why?

 

[red]

Being a former feed & molasses saleperson I'm very picky. We've used several feed companies. Consistency is one of the biggest factors for me. I hate when you get a new batch & the cattle won't eat. Also moldy feed is a big no- no. The feed companies can prevent mold by just having a mold inhibitor put in their molasses. Most companies do it automatically. It's not the place to scrimp. also I look at the total amount of fines. You normally have some but if they're getting to the end of a bin or have really dry corn you'll see a lot more.

Currently we're using Klambach's feed. It's an Ohio based company but they sell to several states.

Red

 

[kanshow]

We bought some feed from our local elevator earlier this spring and it was old.  It smelled bad and was dusty.  I took it back. 

 

[red]

Also in the winter the feed tends to brick up & be hard as a rock. What the mill needs to do is lower the brix (amount of sugar in molasses). Sometimes they will also up the amount of fat in the molasses. Most fat in molasses is vegtable & not animal fat.

As you can tell, I love to talk feed & molasses!!!!  (lol)

Red

 

[kanshow]

We are Sunglo dealers (which amounts to a whole lot of high fat pig feed).  Anyway our big thing is to keep the feed as fresh as possible in the summer and one way to do that is to keep our inventory current.   

The 'brick' molasses issues in the winter do not bother me near as much as the mold, fines, & dust do.  I  don't tolerate mold, dust, or fines.