Ingredient selection — how we build a formula
As we’ve spoken with customers about ingredient sourcing issues related to first the pandemic and then the drought, we are often asked how we go about building feeds and choosing ingredients. Here’s a quick run-through of the process, at a high level. - Alice
Here’s what I do in normal times:
Identify what I want the feed to be and set parameters or expectations.
Decide what levels of nutrients will yield those results. For example, a high-quality chicken layer feed would deliver: 18% crude protein, 3.5% calcium, other levels as appropriate.
Choose what ingredients are available depending on :
Suitability for the chosen feed (taste, nutritional value).
Animals must like it and it must contain the right nutrition.
Quality: If it’s not good quality, we don’t buy it at all. We try another vendor or do without. If it’s necessary to pay more for good quality, we pay the price and pass it along.
We pick ingredients that are grown nearby, abundant in our area and readily available, like wheat and peas (usually).
Price is significant and we pay attention to it, but unless it varies a lot from the usual prices we pay, we don’t use it as a determining factor.
Availability: This varies by season and weather conditions, and sometimes, labor. For example, drought and pandemic labor problems have made some ingredients unavailable. We got our last shipment of peas in May 2021, and it looks bad for this coming year. We now must ration peas and find another source of vegetable protein to substitute for peas until the supply chain is re-established.
Some things that are available are my second choices. The feed may not be as perfect as I’d like, but it is better than no feed.
In the case of shortages and replacements, if it makes you feel better:
Other mills have these critical ingredient issues also. They are frequently not available at any price.
Our equipment range is making a big difference. We have an advantage in being able to combine proteins to replicate what we get from peas. Most mills can’t do that.
Most mills swap ingredients around all the time, depending on what is cheapest. Commercial feed formulation software is built on that concept, ‘least cost formulation’. We haven’t done that, and our customers are accustomed to fixed formulas because we’ve never run into these shortages before.
We appreciate your patience as we work to continue to provide the feeds you and your animals love and thrive on.