New Country Organics decline in quality

[Cindy in PA]

Looks like Nature's Best is still stalling on this feed. I don't understand what their problem is! Just went to their website & the soy free feeds are back to "coming soon" whereas in April it said it was available from select retailers & upon emailing them they said it would be available thru SS for special order. I emailed to question them last week & haven't heard back. Back in April 3 SS dealers in my area had no idea what I was talking about. As for it being available in August at TSC, time will tell. I have had conversations with them since May of last year. They have promised soy free for at least 3 years. It was supposed to be out last August. Got an email in December that they had their bags & it was coming out in January. Finally saw it on their website in April, & here we are. I am done waiting for it. Doubt I will ever see it. Between that & their insistence that their nutritionist never heard of canola giving brown eggs a fishy taste, I don't hold out much hope. Once they started offering their food at TSC, everything disappeared in independent stores around me. I have used their feed for years, but may have to rethink that. Will TSC even carry the broiler feed which is what I am looking for? Their 15.5% layer won't cut it. They also told me you can never feed broiler feed of any kind to layers. Sorry for the rant!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Rape is the general member of the brassica family.
Canola is one of the subspecies of Rape.
Canola is one of the most commonly raised. Likely because of the GMO and oil production aspects.

 

[Loona]

New Country Organics uses a lot number to differentiate the mill date. If you call and give them the lot number they can tell you when it was made. It will be a 'V' number if manufactured in Virginia or a 'T' number if from Texas.

But who can tell the date from the lot number? Not very efficient for the customer. I don't want to call them all the time to get the date. Mine has a V, so it is VA. I've always thought their feed was made in VA. Last phone call though, when I heard about the pellet, the guy said they bring their grain in from Texas and bag it on site. Guess what that really means is they do mill it in VA and bag it in VA but bring the ingredients from TX. I just assumed they farmed it all, milled and bagged. Oh well, whatever the logistics are for this feed, I'm at the point where I no longer feel good about feeding it to my hens. Too much inconsistency, esp as of late. Its too bad they can't "remember" how it used to be. Was so nice opening a fresh bag and seeing that rich looking feed. There were a few times when pea shells inundated the feed, but now I can't even forgive the pea shells. It's always got them and it's pale dry and powdery.

 

[Loona]

Looks like Nature's Best is still stalling on this feed. I don't understand what their problem is! Just went to their website & the soy free feeds are back to "coming soon" whereas in April it said it was available from select retailers & upon emailing them they said it would be available thru SS for special order. I emailed to question them last week & haven't heard back. Back in April 3 SS dealers in my area had no idea what I was talking about. As for it being available in August at TSC, time will tell. I have had conversations with them since May of last year. They have promised soy free for at least 3 years. It was supposed to be out last August. Got an email in December that they had their bags & it was coming out in January. Finally saw it on their website in April, & here we are. I am done waiting for it. Doubt I will ever see it. Between that & their insistence that their nutritionist never heard of canola giving brown eggs a fishy taste, I don't hold out much hope. Once they started offering their food at TSC, everything disappeared in independent stores around me. I have used their feed for years, but may have to rethink that. Will TSC even carry the broiler feed which is what I am looking for? Their 15.5% layer won't cut it. They also told me you can never feed broiler feed of any kind to layers. Sorry for the rant!

I spoke to them and was told TS will be selling it in August. I posted about it a few posts up. You can special order from SS only if it's an independent dealer that can make special orders from the Bagged Feed Warehouse.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm offended by companies that don't use open dating on each bag. and also wouldn't be interested in calling the main office every time for a date. How to verify the accuracy of that phone call?
Using the Julian date isn't exactly as insulting, but still not the best, IMO.
Mary

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Looks like Nature's Best is still stalling on this feed. I don't understand what their problem is! Just went to their website & the soy free feeds are back to "coming soon" whereas in April it said it was available from select retailers & upon emailing them they said it would be available thru SS for special order. I emailed to question them last week & haven't heard back. Back in April 3 SS dealers in my area had no idea what I was talking about. As for it being available in August at TSC, time will tell. I have had conversations with them since May of last year. They have promised soy free for at least 3 years. It was supposed to be out last August. Got an email in December that they had their bags & it was coming out in January. Finally saw it on their website in April, & here we are. I am done waiting for it. Doubt I will ever see it. Between that & their insistence that their nutritionist never heard of canola giving brown eggs a fishy taste, I don't hold out much hope. Once they started offering their food at TSC, everything disappeared in independent stores around me. I have used their feed for years, but may have to rethink that. Will TSC even carry the broiler feed which is what I am looking for? Their 15.5% layer won't cut it. They also told me you can never feed broiler feed of any kind to layers. Sorry for the rant!

I doubt any company stalls on manufacturing and distributing any product. How else do they make money except by selling what they produce?
There are lots of reasons why milling can be "stalled". It is a complicated process making a complete feed but even more complicated to make and more difficult, source sufficient GMO free and organic ingredients from which a nutritionally complete feed can be produced in sufficient quantity to sell at a competitive cost..

But who can tell the date from the lot number? Not very efficient for the customer. I don't want to call them all the time to get the date. Mine has a V, so it is VA. I've always thought their feed was made in VA. Last phone call though, when I heard about the pellet, the guy said they bring their grain in from Texas and bag it on site. Guess what that really means is they do mill it in VA and bag it in VA but bring the ingredients from TX. I just assumed they farmed it all, milled and bagged. Oh well, whatever the logistics are for this feed, I'm at the point where I no longer feel good about feeding it to my hens. Too much inconsistency, esp as of late. Its too bad they can't "remember" how it used to be. Was so nice opening a fresh bag and seeing that rich looking feed. There were a few times when pea shells inundated the feed, but now I can't even forgive the pea shells. It's always got them and it's pale dry and powdery.

No one can tell the mfg. date from the lot # without the records.
They mill in both VA and TX. Each location is used for distribution to their outlets. Shipment of primary ingredients come into the mill from various parts of the country by train.

I understand the desire for organic and non-GMO and I don't know what your interest is in it.
However, I would much rather feed a fresh conventional feed than an organic feed that was old or that I didn't know the age of.

The store manager should know the mill date if they are worth their weight in salt. Call the store before leaving home. If the manager can't tell you how old the feed is, don't bother taking the drive. If they give you the date and you then call the company finding out the date was a lie, never buy feed from them again until you tell them why.

 

[anna-newhampshire]

Hi @Loona, did you ever consider feeding them the old-fashioned way? In 2004 I visited Eastern Europe, and they were giving chickens wheat and (non-GMO) corn in the morning/evening +water and they were allowed to roam free in the orchard, corn field etc. during the day. The eggs were the most delicious ever.
Justin Rhodes, a farmer in NC (I think) replaces the foraging part with fruit, vegetables, scraps, leftover meat etc. Here is a very entertaining 12 min video. Lots of links there, and lots of other similar videos.

 

[Criticalicious]

They also told me you can never feed broiler feed of any kind to layers. Sorry for the rant!

I think they are wrong. I've read on this forum countless times that broiler feed is fine for layers, so long as you supplement with oyster shell. In fact, some people prefer to feed the higher protein broiler/grower feed because they believe it's better for their birds (for some breeds it definitely can be). The broiler feed can cost more though, depending on the brand.

 

[Loona]

Hi @Loona, did you ever consider feeding them the old-fashioned way? In 2004 I visited Eastern Europe, and they were giving chickens wheat and (non-GMO) corn in the morning/evening +water and they were allowed to roam free in the orchard, corn field etc. during the day. The eggs were the most delicious ever.
Justin Rhodes, a farmer in NC (I think) replaces the foraging part with fruit, vegetables, scraps, leftover meat etc. Here is a very entertaining 12 min video. Lots of links there, and lots of other similar videos.

Interesting. I'll have to take a look at that. My hens don't forage, so I yes, I supplement them with 'things' from the kitchen and outdoor, like chickweed, japanese beetles. But yeah, when I first got the flock I looked so forward to having them around the pasture, and yard, then along came the daggone fox. Would even come up to our front door. I don't think that thing is around anymore, but they're still out there for sure. Total bummer.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Hope you are right about NB soy free being in TSC in August. Even their regular organic took 6 months longer to be in TSC then they stated. I have talked directly with them for years on both products & they tell me time again it is coming & then nothing happens. I still have their emails from last summer & November & April & still no product. I didn't just assume, I was told by them & then nothing. They also clearly stated that they never heard that canola can cause fishy eggs in some brown egg layers & that broiler can NEVER be fed to layers. Sorry if I question their experts when I know they are wrong.