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feeding barley

  • 31-03-2011 9:26am
    #1
    leoch
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 947 ✭✭✭


    anyone feeding crushed barley instead of beef mix yet cause of the price difference ? i was thinking of getting a ton of barley the next time as its about 50 euro a ton cheaper than the beef mix and its for heifers mostly year olds or there abouts they also getting silage?


Comments

  • #2
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    leoch wrote: »
    anyone feeding crushed barley instead of beef mix yet cause of the price difference ? i was thinking of getting a ton of barley the next time as its about 50 euro a ton cheaper than the beef mix and its for heifers mostly year olds or there abouts they also getting silage?


    My personal opinion is that barley on its own would not be a suitable replacement for beef mix and you will get nowhere near the same feeding as you would get out a beef mix costing a mere €50 per ton more. While your beef mix may contain a lot of barley, it also contains other ingredients that are essential for growth such as Citrus, Distillers, Soya Bean, Rape Seed, Maze, etc. along with a variety of additional minerals.

    While a barley feed might sustain your animals, you may find that without some of the above ingredients in your feed, €50 per ton saved could see a dip in your cattle's performance and far less return from your animals.

    If it was that simple, every farmer would be doing it and Millers would have a lot less business. I'd advise you that before making the choice to switch to barley, price at least 5 different millers. Compare the feeds that they offer and their costs. You'd be surprised the savings that you could make.


  • #3
    cjpm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,536 ✭✭✭cjpm


    reilig wrote: »
    My personal opinion is that barley on its own would not be a suitable replacement for beef mix and you will get nowhere near the same feeding as you would get out a beef mix costing a mere €50 per ton more. While your beef mix may contain a lot of barley, it also contains other ingredients that are essential for growth such as Citrus, Distillers, Soya Bean, Rape Seed, Maze, etc. along with a variety of additional minerals.

    While a barley feed might sustain your animals, you may find that without some of the above ingredients in your feed, €50 per ton saved could see a dip in your cattle's performance and far less return from your animals.

    If it was that simple, every farmer would be doing it and Millers would have a lot less business. I'd advise you that before making the choice to switch to barley, price at least 5 different millers. Compare the feeds that they offer and their costs. You'd be surprised the savings that you could make.


    Good advice Reilig


  • #4
    reilig
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,401 ✭✭✭reilig


    cjpm wrote: »
    Good advice Reilig

    Its from experience.
    I've tried it, it doesn't work. If you could grow your own barley then it may be worth while. You could afford to buy a protein mix such as Soya or Rape and minerals to mix with your own barley and have a good feed at a reasonable price. If you decided to buy the barley separate (even off the combine) and then buy the protein and the minerals then your feed won't be much cheaper than from the miller. And you will have the hassle of storing a large amount too and you will have the hassle of rolling and mixing along with that.


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