Feed represents the largest percentage of the cost of raising livestock and, with the financial difficulties being faced within the hog and cattle sectors, feed manufacturers have been striving to keep feed costs as low as possible.
Daryl Olson, the north Saskatchewan livestock consultant with Finer Feeds in Saskatoon, says it all depends on what you consider the best bargain but he looks at what gives you the biggest bang for your buck.
“People are starting to go away from the DDGS. They're finding that they're not getting quite the profit they thought they were out of that product,” Olson said.
“They just had a report out that guys were using corn DDGS and they're finding out now that to save money it cost them money in the end because their loins are scoring a lot lower.
“They're going into more soy canola based feed because we have lots of it here and we're working at using more of the amino acids, enzymes to produce a better pig with a better loin and better weight gain.
“They're looking at what the components are in the soy oil that they're adding to their feed rather than just adding and not knowing what the energy level is in your oil they're looking at everything and trying to balance off a nutritious meal for these hogs.”
Olson says most feed companies have been trying to keep feed costs down but in the near future the feed industry will need to increase its prices so it can recover some of its losses.
He says right now hog producers are making 20 to 30 percent on their hogs while those in the feed industry are making 12 to 15 percent profit on their feed so somewhere down the line they're going to have to meet up.
Source: Farmscape.Canada.
