Sunflower seed price hike. Worldwide or local?

[chicken farmer 1997]

Quote:
Not quite understanding what you mean.

Price has risen because of supply and demand. Lots of growing areas (our farm included) have been fighting poor growing conditions which equals lower yields (some for several years in a row now) plus input costs have risen dramatically over the last several years.

they take corn and make gasoline out of it. but corn is 16.25 for 100 this year in 2010 it was 9.50 a 100 lb.

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Not quite understanding what you mean.

Price has risen because of supply and demand. Lots of growing areas (our farm included) have been fighting poor growing conditions which equals lower yields (some for several years in a row now) plus input costs have risen dramatically over the last several years.

they take corn and make gasoline out of it. but corn is 16.25 for 100 this year in 2010 it was 9.50 a 100 lb.

The corn grown for that really doesn't take anything away from what they use as a food source. We farmers are growing way more acres of corn that go to the ethanol industry than we ever grew just as a feed source.

 

[eds500]

I'm on a half acre city lot that gets alot of sun. I grow what I can to supplement the hens pelletized food. For those who have space, have you considered growing BOSS? You can grow alot of plants in a small space. I currently grow mammoth sunflowers for the seeds for me but I'm switching to BOSS next year for the hens. Granted mammoths take up alot of space but I still get one plant every 4 sq/ft. I realize this solution is seasonal and for those who supplement with BOSS year-round may have supply problems but it does provide some relief. Plus, you get the benefit of having pollinators on your property to help with whatever else you have growing.

 

[Tracydr]

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$39.00 here. Might have been a forty pound bag. Too expensive to look at.
I'm going to try growing some chia and fenugreek as cover crops this fall.

 

[Tracydr]

Next summer I'll plant a bunch of the BOSS sunflowers for the chickens, along with amaranth and some pearl millet.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
$39.00 here. Might have been a forty pound bag. Too expensive to look at.
I'm going to try growing some chia and fenugreek as cover crops this fall.

OMG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What can we possibly substitute to take the place of sunflower seeds? What is chia and fenugreek?

 

[Tracydr]

Chia is a seed very high in omega 3, sort of like flax. It's very drought tolerant, grows in the desert during cool seasons so I'm going to try it this fall and winter. You probably remember chia pets? It grows very easily and has pretty blue flowers. Flax is also easy to grow so I might try some of that as well. You can only feed a certain percent of flax but pretty high, maybe five or ten percent? I'm also trying some amaranth this summer, a very high protein grain that is very easy to grow and tolerates our summer heat in Phoenix. I only planted a tiny bit, just to see if it would grow. Next summer, I'll plant a bunch. It's one of the most complete plant proteins, along with quinoa. Easy to grow, too.
For people and horses, chia doesn't need to be ground to get its omega 3s. I don't think chickens need flax seed ground so that's not an issue. Flax is very easy to grow and very pretty.
So, this fall, I'll try growing flax, chia and quinoa. This next summer, I'm going to grow BOSS and amaranth. I don't have much land but I can tuck in a little grain and flowers here and there, on the sides of the people gardens.

 

[CarolAnn]

I won't be buying/feeding BOSS until winter, and then probably more sparingly than last year because of the higher cost. I have ducks to feed now so will be making some budget adjustments. I was hoping that feeding pellets might give my birds more to the mouthful and have less waste. Having a time getting them to eat the pellets. But they WERE on the hard side. I fed them to the ducks and the second bag I bought wasn't as hard. I went with Nutrina and they're eating it, but I noticed after I got home with it that it's a40# bag rather than 50#.

 

[kuntrygirl]

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Do you think the price will go down come winter?

 

[CarolAnn]

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Do you think the price will go down come winter?

That I can't say, but I'm hoping it doesn't go too high that I can't afford it to give occasionally to my chickens during the cold months.