would like to learn to grind and sell grain

corkyhughes · Mar 17, 2012

My son and I are looking to start grinding and selling grain, specifically grain for chickens, ducks, and pigs. A gentleman in Washington got his recepie from the University of Washington, AG dept, but won't share it. We are looking for the ratios of grain and what type of grinder to buy. To start with we are thinking a smaller one as our production won't be large at first. Any ideas?

creekbend · Mar 17, 2012

Welcome aboard. :tractor:

Muhammad · Mar 17, 2012

Welcome to TBN.

Egon · Mar 17, 2012

It may be advisable to contact a University Agricultural Dept. just to see what information you can get.

It may also get a little more complicated as different folks may want different mixes.

Then there is feed stock/finished product handling equipment.

A lot more than just grinding grain involved.

mguitas · Mar 18, 2012

:welcome:

moored4 · Mar 18, 2012

:welcome: to TBN! :thumbsup:

Happy :tractor: ing!

powerpace · Mar 18, 2012

Any University Ag Department has information on feed rations.
Custom mixers will combine what the buyer wants in bulk.
Look at the tag on any feed sack in a farm store. That will give you an idea.

Here's the rub. You have to buy enough varietys of grain or supplements to mix. Storage, handling and mixing and storage of finished stock takes up room and it can be dangerous.

A small custom mix operation burned to the ground about four years ago. Dust in a motor that wasn't sealed sparked and destroyed the whole thing. No insurance.

corkyhughes · Mar 18, 2012

thanks for the reply. We have some small production guys locally doing what we want to do. Scott has a business that supports him and also has a lot of animals he needs to feed. This will be a buisness that grows slow and supplies food for his animals. We are looking for a small PTO driven grinder to start with. The larger grinders seem to have a hard time controling the grind so it doesn't make powder out of it. Thanks for the tip on fire danger.

Briana03 · Mar 21, 2012

WELCOME to TBN

I moved your thread to the Ag Tractors & Machinery Forum.

smstonypoint · Mar 21, 2012

corkyhughes said:
My son and I are looking to start grinding and selling grain, specifically grain for chickens, ducks, and pigs. A gentleman in Washington got his recepie from the University of Washington, AG dept, but won't share it. We are looking for the ratios of grain and what type of grinder to buy. To start with we are thinking a smaller one as our production won't be large at first. Any ideas?

I suspect that the gentleman obtained his "recipe" from Washington State University, the land-grant in the state of Washington. You could try contacting the Animal Science Department there for assistance: WSU Animal Sciences - Home

If you want to improve your chances in conducting your own Google searches, use the terms "balanced rations" and "least-cost rations."

You will find that there are innumerable ingredient combinations that can provide a "balanced ration" in terms of meeting an animal's nutritional requirements, but you are interested in determining the combination that does so at "least cost." That least-cost combination is obtained by application of a mathematical (usually linear) programming algorithm. Because the least-cost combination is determined by relative ingredient prices that frequently change, the "recipe" you referred to may be a balanced ration, but is unlikely to be a least-cost ration.

Steve

Edit: I just noticed that you are located in Idaho. Here's a link to the Animal Science Department at the U. of Idaho: http://www.uidaho.edu/cals/avs