Animal Feed Information Exchange

[WatersEdge]

For a long time I have wished there was an Animal Feed Information Exchange

where I could look to see nationwide bargains

and send an email to place an order.

Then I've longed for a six wheel truck freight service,

to bring the load directly to my farm the very next day.

An existing website from University Missouri is found here:

http://agebb.missouri.edu/dairy/byprod/AllProducts.asp

I propose that forum members share information on the best animal feed resources,

so that seasonal windfalls on cheap bulk commodity

can add to our barn / pond profits scattered about the country.

I'm willing and eager to coordinate, sort, organize and distribute the flow of information,

because selfishly speaking, I'll be the first to benefit.

In my quest for the cheapest protein point in bulk feeds

as I raise hogs, catfish, goats, chickens

I continually have pinch points as the market situation changes

throughout the year.

I should clarify that I use very little pellet bagged feed,

depending instead on the large difference in price

to compensate for a bit of extra labor

and for a slower growth rate.

There are things such as

soy meal and

fish meal,

which I'd like to have regularly,

but the local suppliers don't offer.

Other things such as

mung bean screen rejects,

harvest glut field damp cob corn,

rice bran,

corn sheller chaff

at times are cheap and plentiful beyond my need

and I'd like to share the bargain as I increase my own purchase volume

to enhance my buying status with the suppliers

There is mung bean hay available seasonally in large volume,

which with a hay baler could be harvested by hundreds of tons,

making a cattle feedlot feasible.

There is more than I could possibly use, plenty to share.

As I talk with other animal feeders,

they have local specialty products which are wonderful bargains,

at oversupply

which for the cost of transportation could be completely consumed.

Enjoyed a farm visit from a forum member this week,

to learn that he has an endless supply of wet rice distiller's grains

and his price on rice bran half of mine, a third the standard market rate.

Before his visit, I thought I had the best situation possible

The details are endless, so I will restrain from excess brain storming

in an initial post,

but I'm eager to learn your good ideas.

This will also set up a lot of good information

about why an obscure feed source is so good.

For example:

Okra leaf,

Spiny Pigweed (Pak Kom) Amaranthus spinosus and

Roselle leaf,

I was totally unaware of six months ago.

while now they are elements of my feed supply.

[IsaanAussie]

WE,

This is a great idea, be it for basic ingredients or for pelleted feeds. For that matter to move any farm related product between members and markets.

I see only one obstacle and that is the transport.

Perhaps each member should find a local private truck owner, not a bomb but a truck in reasonable condition which he can use in the network. If member A needs a product by the load, he sends his truck to get it, as you would, as you probably do. However for partial loads between members and markets there would need to be a logistics management tool to route plan deliveries and hopefully return loads. That presents a major obstacle which unless solved means lots of unladen trucks for half the journey, and that introduces significant cost.

Another option would be to use a commercial freight company given that enough members had the need along any route "circuit".

Typical opportunity would be to combine rice harvests and ship to Bangkok merchants. If you grow 15 - 20 tonne, then OK, but if you have less the BKK guys aren't interested, but with 2 or 3 others joined together, no problem to get the tonnage. When I looked last, the price available was roughly twice the local merchants rate.

Most of the private truckers prefer to travel at night to avoid the obvious daytime additional costs and stoppages. This would work in favour of transporting produce like vegetables.

Anyway for what it is worth, get the transport in place and the idea is great.

[fruity]

WE,

This is a great idea, be it for basic ingredients or for pelleted feeds. For that matter to move any farm related product between members and markets.

I see only one obstacle and that is the transport.

Perhaps each member should find a local private truck owner, not a bomb but a truck in reasonable condition which he can use in the network. If member A needs a product by the load, he sends his truck to get it, as you would, as you probably do. However for partial loads between members and markets there would need to be a logistics management tool to route plan deliveries and hopefully return loads. That presents a major obstacle which unless solved means lots of unladen trucks for half the journey, and that introduces significant cost.

Another option would be to use a commercial freight company given that enough members had the need along any route "circuit".

Typical opportunity would be to combine rice harvests and ship to Bangkok merchants. If you grow 15 - 20 tonne, then OK, but if you have less the BKK guys aren't interested, but with 2 or 3 others joined together, no problem to get the tonnage. When I looked last, the price available was roughly twice the local merchants rate.

Most of the private truckers prefer to travel at night to avoid the obvious daytime additional costs and stoppages. This would work in favour of transporting produce like vegetables.

Anyway for what it is worth, get the transport in place and the idea is great.

In my humble opinion, anything other than an INFORMATION EXCHANGE would be a complete waste of time & effort. OK, exchange the information, but it surely has to be left to the indiviual to follow through.

[WatersEdge]

Gentlemen,

Let's list the Pros and Cons of cheap feed

Bad News First:

1. Inconvenience of Handling

a. Arranging the truck from a distant source

b. Commercial bagged feeds come in clean 30 kg bags

Bulk feeds come in either

100 kg gunny sacks or

Customer provided used feed sacks.

c. Bulk Feeds typically require some sort of attention before feeding.

Hammer mill whole grain to meal

Cooking Soybeans to break the anti digestives

Water soaking whole kernel corn

d. Bulk Feeds typically have much more manure bulk.

Cob

Chaff

This is a nice soil amendment if desired,

but a handling problem if you don't need it.

2. Storage Volume

Commercial bagged feeds are available as we pass by the retailer

Bulk feeds are typically bought by pickup truck or large truck lots.

Since we propose to connect distant points, it becomes large trucks.

When the truck arrives, the Grower needs a nice dry place to store it,

as well as labor to unload and stack.

3. Capital

Running to the local retailer is pocket money each trip.

Stockpiling a couple months of feed for the whole barn is real money.

4. Balanced Ration

Feedmills manufacture according to their precise recipe

Bulk feeds depend on a far cheaper protein price point to compensate for the hassle.

The Grower needs to know a lot more details about each feed type nutrition analysis

and about the nutritional and mineral requirements of animals at their various life stages.

This devotion to the details improves the growth rate

versus the alternate school of thought,

Just throw dirt cheap feed at the animals and don't worry about them growing slower.

Transferring the seasonally changing mix requirements

to barn laborers is another farm achievement.

They want to just do the same thing day after day,

but resist annoying changes to their daily pattern.

Now the Good News:

1. Seasonal Bargains on Bulk purchase,

which reduce the cost of feed to a fraction of Fancy bagged feeds.

I find this advantage is available commonly in Thailand,

because Thais typically aren't able to find technical information

or don't want to be bothered with thinking about it.

My neighbor farmers could not be bothered with my additional efforts.

They'd ask in passing, What's the point? Just go to the feed store already.

2. Hmmm...Well that's about it, Greatly reducing the largest cost of raising an animal.

It appeals to me because I like beating the system.

I have to admit,

there are unexpected outcomes

that have caused me to regret my resourcefulness.

Pigs love dry corn stalk, but the mold in them is a health problem.

Rice Bran is excessively high in Phosphorous,

at first glance a great positive,

as Phosphorous deficiency is a growth limitation

until you understand that for every 3 P's,

an animal must also have 5 Ca's,

(The chemical compound of bone is Ca5(PO4)3OH

so you absolutely must provide continual free choice limestone

An excess of P without adequate Ca to tie it up, causes bone porosity.

I'm still thinking,

as it already works for me on a local level

and I see even greater advantage of hauling even cheaper feeds from afar.

I'll add more as time permits.

[WatersEdge]

Corn Sheller Chaff

Cheapest Bulk Feed I know

In the past several months,

I've stumbled upon a windfall

which other livestock feeders should be aware of.

Corn Sheller Chaff is the fluffy white pile that comes off the winnow fan.

First the Comparative Market Conditions:

Thailand Market

20 August 2010 Yellow Corn is B9.00-9.20 / kg

http://www.dit.go.th/diteng/image/hi_4.pdf

World Market

Chicago Mercantile Exchange September Corn is $4.21 / bushel 56 lb

http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/commodities/grain-and-oilseed/corn.html

This converts to B4.96 / kg

Note that Domestic Thailand Corn is 9.00 / 4.96 => 1.81

81% Premium over World Commodity Price.

Another fascinating topic for a later day.

Now the Corn Sheller Chaff

I bought 7 metric tons out of season

from a messy pile on the granary warehouse floor.

Paid B1.00 / kg FOB Granary,

packed in my Customer provided used feed sacks,

When I got it to the barn,

it turned out about 1/2 cracked corn by weight.

So the net effect, Cracked Corn for B2.00

if you completely disregard any feed value in the chaff half.

At the time, Yellow Corn had peaked at B10.00

Here's the strategy:

The Corn harvest in this Mae Sot area typically begins in late August,

extending to late September.

This year planting was delayed a month

due to late onset of rain.

By late September this year,

there will be a sudden glut,

extending well into the New Year

as the cob corn steadily flows from farms to the granaries.

Any of you livestock feeders who want to make advantage of it

can contact first your local granary at similar glut seasons,

but then I'm happy to broker truck loads to you.

A Thai friend with three truck & trailer rigs,

is always looking for another load.

He's a good guy who I can recommend without hesitation.

He prefers full 30 metric ton loads of course,

but for an acceptable premium will also drop back to ten wheeler.

Corn has Protein 9%

Oil 4%

Carb 75%

For Hogs, the Protein Point needs a boost,

For Cattle it's pretty impressive.

For everything, I can tolerate slower growth rate for cheap feed.

One additional topic:

If anyone wants a Joint Venture,

I have excess hog barn capacity and suitably fenced cattle growout area,

lacking the capital to make full advantage of it.

I'd be delighted to share the proceeds on filling my farm to capacity,

should anyone have money in search of a profit.

Feeder Pigs remain in short supply here,

so I have held back 20 gilts total:

11 already in various stage of gestation,

9 additional waiting to be bred.

Burma Brahman cattle are available here continually,

with an open air sale yard holding around 3,000 bulls,

occasionally some bull calves,

once in a while a heifer.

Note on other forum threads that

Charolais,

Holstein, and

Brangus stock are available

in other parts of the nation.

There is a reason that fine grain fattened beef

is in short supply

commanding a high grocery store price

Not enough livestock feeders keep cattle on cheap grain bulk by product.

I can't think of any other reason,

as this little Mae Sot valley

to my Nevada high desert cow country eye

has MOO written all over it.