what is an acceptable time frame from which a feed is manufactured, sent to store and then sold? How long are stores allowed to have feed sitting in warehouses or on the floor before sold? Thoughts? Opinions?

Shelf life of feed varies depending on ingredients. If it is a grain based feed with molasses the shelf life will be vary short as the sugars will encourage mold rather quickly. Some feeds that have added fat also will have a short shelf life, and those with full fat flax or raw rice bran that do not use a "stabilized" version of those ingredients will be rancid when you get them, no matter how quickly they moved through thier distribution system. Stabilized full fat flax and Stabilized rice bran, on the other hand have a full year of shelf life if properly stored. Temperature also has an impact on shelf life. Most grain based feed have insect eggs present. This is a natural, and unavoidable, feature of any grain. Usually, those eggs will not hatch until the temperature of the feed gets over 70 degrees. That is why you seldom see infested feed in the winter, and have a hard time avoiding it in the summer. There is no way to really tell how "fresh" your feed is, because it is simply a blend of ingredients that may vary a lot in age from each other.  Oats, corn and soybeans are harvested from the summer to early fall months. This is almost June, so any grain in your feed is at least nine months old right now. Since grains used for animal feed are at the bottom of the value chart, with superior quality going to the food market in one form or another, corn and oats can easily be left overs that are several years old or more. So, you have several things to consider. How old are the ingredients used? How stable are those ingredients used in the formulation? When was the product mixed and packaged? What kind of weather conditions did the finished product sit through? 

Sweet feed has a usable shelf life in warm weather of about one month, often less. Dry blends of feed usually will last several months or more if they do not get hot or wet. Products using Stabilized ingredients should last six months to a year depending on ingredient quality and storage conditions. 

For me personally, I won't feed any feed over 90 days from the manufacture date. I store my feed inside the house in an air conditioned room to maximize how long it's good for and keep it away from critters etc. renew gold however is good for a year which is awesome. 

Well, here’s my thing, I bought feed back in mid-late April. I went to pour up the feed a wk or so ago and I had some mold (more than 1 bag)so I checked the date on it and it was a February date. (Also know someone else who had moldy feed from about the same time frame at another store)I called the company and was told to bring it in to exchange and that’s all good BUT....the feed that was on the floor at the store had the same date as my bad feed!....and that pallet was just delivered late April/ beginning of May.....WHY are they still shipping feed that is almost 90 days old to stores to sell? I’ve never had a problem before and they handled the situation appropriately so for now I’ll still be a customer but if these dates stay this far off I’m going to have to find another feed/ store to buy from. And this is one of their more frequently sold feeds so it’s not like they just aren’t moving product.

Could it possibly be affected by covid? I mean, the delivery and maybe availability? I'm not sure what you are feeding but I know some companies had some shipping issues. I always check the dates, my feedstore is really good about getting in and keeping fresh feed but occasionally one can slip by. Being a feed snob, I  can definitely tell immediately if a bag is off. I buy a bunch of chicken feed too and I'm the same way with that! 

not sure....I stopped in the same brand store an hr and a half away yesterday and they had feed from end of april...ok that’s not so bad.....stopped in my local store to follow up and the same pallet that was there 2 weeks ago with the February date was still on the floor! So I called today to talk to the manager I dealt with...he “forgot” to talk with corporate, so we had a few words (nicely) and I told him I would be calling corporate too. It’s ridiculous. 

We have not had any issues with the Covid and getting our feed fresh. We order it and it's milled and shipped within 5 business days. We have it sold within 7-14 days on a normal basis but most of te time faster. Our pellets are backed by the company up to 90 days of manufacturing, sweet feed is backed up to 30 days. But rarely we ever have feed older then 30 days of so it's one we don't sell much of it and that is normally more chicken/cattle feed. The horse feed moves super fast. There is a large chain store that I know always has older feed on the floor. I look anytime we go in there. 

I figured I would update on this....so I heard back from corporate...they say that their company policy states they can sell textured feed up to 4 months post mill date and pelleted feed up to 10 months after milling ??. That’s a bit insane if you ask me especially in the heat and humidity down here!

so now I’m stuck with trying to stay within my budget and decide if I want fresher feed with a few less ingredients/nutrients (from more local mill) or stick with what I have (which I’ve had good results with) and worry about it being potentially months old.

That is absolutely ridiculous definitely on textured feed.