Three 4 Luck - 2014-01-30 7:42 PM  So how come feed prices haven't come down yet since commodity prices are in the toilet?

dme0324 - 2014-01-30 7:06 PM I am coming to believe that it depends on the product about as much as the company.  We're still not finished going through labels but Purina Strategy uses the generic terms (at least the labels we have collected so far) -- ADM even uses soybean hulls, I think it's the first ingredient in the Senior Glo -- it appears Purina Sr might be a fixed formula (listed ingredients) -- we haven't gotten to any Nutrena labels yet.



I'm in the same boat as several others -- can't get much of anything here.  I just switched to a TC product combined with Purina amplify (I believe amplify is a fixed formula) because I can't get the ADM I liked anymore.  I didn't want to switch but did the best I could with what's available & we're not in the middle of no where but apparently in a wasteland when it comes to grain.



To the OP -- I believe I brought up 'generic labels' -- it was not meant to be insulting.  At least not from me.  A couple of others well......



I wish we had even more samples to go through for this project / because I was hoping to have a better idea of what's what on labels & ingredients when we were through.  But we're running out of time & will have to work with what we have.  

livinonlove&horses - 2014-01-30 9:00 PM  I would be happy to send you the labels of the feed I have here. I feed strategy healthy edge, I don't like reg strategy, Ultium growth and enrich 32. I tried some of their cheaper feeds, but they were awful.  I don't really like the feed, I think better is out there, but I don't have access to it

Hollywood's Fan - 2014-01-30 3:00 PM


 I don't like it either.  Wheat Middings and Soy Hulls.  I wonder, does the OP know what those are? 

uno-dos-tres! - 2014-01-31 5:48 AM

If that horse in your picture is on your "progressive" I wouldn't change a thing!

livinonlove&horses - 2014-01-30 8:57 PM  Amen to that. It's ridiculous. My husband and I have decided to get out of farming. We were farming over 2000 acres, but inputs from the spring were high and with corn prices now, on top of our drought last year, we are done. Sadly we are selling our far too. I heard on the news that beef would be 6% higher this year because of high corn prices. I laughed out loud. I know it's from then high corn they bought last year to feed out but I bet beef doesn't go down next year in reflection to this years corn price!

dme0324 - 2014-01-31 7:03 AM We are now short on time -- but if you can take pictures & post them (btw:  I couldn't accomplish that, lol) -- we'd love to add more to the mix.  The whole point of the project was to try to determine what's rumor and what's not concerning labels.   Like I said on the other thread, I learned today from this thread that just because it says Purina doesn't mean it's going to have the generic terms (variable ingredients).



Anyone else that wants to post pics of labels, we're glad to have them.  I may even start a new thread over the weekend asking.  If you do, including price per bag & the general geographic location would be helpful.



 

hlynn - 2014-01-30 4:50 PM Purina is the low man on the totem pole. They have a decent tag. But there's no guarantee that they use the same amounts of each ingredient every time. And yes, with a non-fixed formula feed you could have two very different versions of your feed within a few bags. Processes feed isn't perfect. But companies like Triple Crown, Buckeye, Seminole, Blue Bonnet, ADM, and a few others are miles ahead of Purina/Nutrena. They have better ingredients. Better formulas. And better nutrition. If I could afford to feed raw materials to my herd, I would. But to get the nutrition from raw feeds that I get from TC Senior, I would have to spend quite a bit. Rice bran. Flax. Pre/probiotic. Alfalfa meal. Beet pulp. Soybean meal. Etc. So I choose to feed the best processed feed I can find.

CYA Ranch - 2014-01-30 7:59 PM A horse that needs a low starch diet cannot have corn, barley or oats. All are very high in starch.

uno-dos-tres! - 2014-01-31 8:09 AM I'm so sorry to hear you are having to leave your farming. But from a stockwomens position. Cattle prices are not going to drop because of national numbers. Its going to cost me a fortune to get back in after our drought. We are holding a small  group of replacement females. We have sold 150 head of mommas. The crisis in farming and ranching is far from over. PS I keep my 9-5 and hubby takes care of ranching duties and picks up odd jobs to make ends meet.

uno-dos-tres! - 2014-01-31 8:46 AM I understand your positioning. I can't stand to mix feeds but here I am once again in my lifetime doing it. I grew a chunk of a colt off on Purina Ultium two years ago. I put two others and him on the regular Ultium. They didn't do near as well over a 5-6 mo. period.



When someone like NTO says your horses don't look to good I pay attention. 



I'm custom mixing, all the grains you listed with the exception of soybean. Won't feed it or wheat to horses due to inflammation. I had a nutritionist from a very big company ask me to try a new feed. The broodies, and their babies better come shiney in a few weeks!  I was quite surprised when they loaded my truck with it and the ticket had no charge, call feed developer with weekly updates.



My husband can mix, but face it its a PIA to do so. We're both hoping that the feed for the mares works out.

I'll say this, I really like the Slick Mix and if it does everything they say I'll enjoy having my horses on a nearly all forage diet!

lisamm - 2014-01-31 7:35 AM Totally agree, just fillers and junk...... Purina and Nutrena both are terrible! Plus the recommended amount to feed of those feeds is just plain nuts. When I see people only feeding 1lb of a feed that your suppose to be feeding 10-14lbs you might as well throw your money away. I will stick with my Progressive feed that actually stands behind their products with no national backing....

Nevertooold - 2014-01-30 4:56 PM I just fed my last bag of Triple Crown as getting Nutrena to mix their feed was a kiss of death. My very consistent Triple Crown Senior became the most inconstent crap. Pretty bad when my husband, who barely ever feeds, ask me when I changed my feed..

lonely va barrelxr - 2014-01-31 10:28 AM





Ding!  This is what sent me on the hunt for a new feed program last spring.  My TC feeds looked different every week.  Some had lots of corn, some less, some the pellets were dark and soft, some were lighter and hard as little bricks.  Bags were inconsistently dry or sticky too. 

After hours and hours of research, calls, reading, and even touching and sniffing, I decided to try the forage only diet that I'm still on and loving.   

lonely va barrelxr - 2014-01-31 10:28 AM





Ding!  This is what sent me on the hunt for a new feed program last spring.  My TC feeds looked different every week.  Some had lots of corn, some less, some the pellets were dark and soft, some were lighter and hard as little bricks.  Bags were inconsistently dry or sticky too. 
After hours and hours of research, calls, reading, and even touching and sniffing, I decided to try the forage only diet that I'm still on and loving.