tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post842167981875880232..comments2023-12-15T02:04:08.213-08:00Comments on meat: "I want to grow my own feed"Bruce Kinghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-48796541169567081172013-02-27T18:50:43.272-08:002013-02-27T18:50:43.272-08:00I'm bummed that I'll have to be abandoning...I'm bummed that I'll have to be abandoning my acre of Austrian Field Peas planted in the fall. I'll do a post on them before I move for good. Right now, they're about an inch tall, and the jury is still out as to whether they will grow fast enough to outpace the grass.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05477013963212151740noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-31311759105498620552013-02-27T18:14:36.160-08:002013-02-27T18:14:36.160-08:00Ya after I wrote my comment I was pondering those ...Ya after I wrote my comment I was pondering those issues... if you can keep growing season feed prices down then buy in winter feed it should help significantly.<br /><br />Now, for pigs a standing field of corn and beans will go a long ways in the winter. Add field pumpkins and you'll really keep them happy. Even through a great deal of the winter. They'll clean up shattered grains as well. The pigs knock the cornstalks down.<br /><br />Cattle can be harder but winter wheat planted in July or August gives a good stand of green feed. Combine that with winter radishes (i.e. diakons) you've got good winter feed. Run the pigs after them and they'll clean up.<br /><br />You can do things for winter as well but DO keep some hay and grain when bad bad weather hits you'll need it! Especially ice storms! We keep straw for pig bedding, works better than hay.off grid mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03391389670135173476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-7285459557101874292013-02-27T12:28:56.176-08:002013-02-27T12:28:56.176-08:00Off grid mama, for most of the season it's abs...Off grid mama, for most of the season it's absolutely cheapest to have the animals harvest it themselves, and that's the direction I'm thinking too. <br /><br />The time of year when it's harder to do is winter; particuarly for ruminantes like cows or sheep; root crops can be fed to them, but you have to dig them up and if you're talking about a commercial quantity of cows, digging them up will be a very big task. <br /><br />To keep the pastures in good shape I prefer to keep my animals off them during the non-growing months. We never get cold enough here to freeze the ground all winter -- this year the ground really didn't freeze at all, actually -- and the cattle/sheep hooves will cut the sod up and make mud. <br /><br />So I put my cows into a smaller paddock, which I sacrifice (hence the name "sacrifice paddock" ) and feed them hay until the grass is growing again. <br /><br />Spring, summer and fall self-feeding animals work great. It's winter that's the problem. <br />Bruce Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-91200619747471915972013-02-27T12:23:43.474-08:002013-02-27T12:23:43.474-08:00Andrew, I agree completely that about the only way...Andrew, I agree completely that about the only way to get "organic" feed is to grow it yourself. The price premium for organic feed in this area is between 30 and 100%; I got an email from an outfit that produces organic hog feed and their bulk price is north of $800a ton. Conventional feed is $520 a ton right now. The same is true for forage feeds; alfalfa and various kinds of hay. <br /><br />Bruce Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10995706761794063165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-44536895666666665942013-02-27T01:27:37.561-08:002013-02-27T01:27:37.561-08:00Mmm.. why harvest it if you're feeding the liv...Mmm.. why harvest it if you're feeding the livestock? Let them harvest it. The only reason you need to store it is if your animals are confined. Electric fence is a wonderful thing. Plant fodder crops for larger volume for grazers. Plant grain and root crops for hogs to forage. Chickens like grain harvesting as well. Stock your land in a manner your land can support them without buying in feed.Maybe not going to be a huge operation where you bring in large amounts of income but enough to pay bills and live well enough. Granted this is hard to do if you're not debt free. I.e. mortgageoff grid mamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03391389670135173476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1842136564899097734.post-45910386585799801822013-02-26T16:58:27.714-08:002013-02-26T16:58:27.714-08:00I've been looking into growing my own feed, an...I've been looking into growing my own feed, and the biggest hurdle I'm running into so far is equipment. We have a tractor and planter, but we'll hire out harvesting. Storage is a problem, even a small operation will need at least an 18' grain bin, plus bulk bins or covered gravity wagons for the protein part of the ration. Add in the price of a PTO-driven grinder-mixer and you're talking at least $5k just to get into the game. If you're growing your own soybeans, you'll have to find someone to roast or extrude them to get rid of the trypsin inhibitors. <br />On the plus side, making your own organic or GMO-free feed is the only way to get such feed at a reasonable price. Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15946612610185670239noreply@blogger.com