iPick~
Regarding my lay pellets, lay crumbles and lay mash, I get them from IFA. Chick starter and finisher as well. National brands are fine and I won't bash them, but I seldom purchase them either. I base the whole of my feeding structure on fresh. You can see on the feed labels the packaged date or code. I find that local grain, turned into local feed has the shortest time spent in or on a shelf in the warehouse. So I choose by freshness date, not so much by brand. Fresher is better I believe. I use IFA because it is the feed with the shortest shelf time. It costs less than national brands, but I would pay more for freshness. Also there are no preservative components.
I do not choose to pay more for old stock national brands. IFA carries Purina I believe, but it is solely because of customers asking for it. They are in the business of selling you what you want. That does not equate into what is best. Fancy sacks and slick advertising won't make up for extra time on the shelf, the truck or the warehouse. I have seen some very old stock at some of the other feed stores in our area. All things being equal, the fresher the better. A tight supply chain is of greater value than one made from 'only the finest grains'. Everyone, for the most part, uses the finest, freshest grains they can get. Production dates on IFA feed is marked in plain text. Others us a 'code' that after some work you may be able to figure out. It is not in plain text because it can be old stock.
It might be of use for members who don't need large sacks, to split one and benefit from fresher feed. I saw at the IFA in Ogden on twelfth street, a dispenser that would let you buy feed by the pound, sort of like a big gum ball machine. That might be another way to get smaller amounts of feed, but still fresh. I also have seen 25 pound/half sacks at IFA during the bird season.
Do what is right for you, you always know best for your conditions and your birds,
RJ
Regarding my lay pellets, lay crumbles and lay mash, I get them from IFA. Chick starter and finisher as well. National brands are fine and I won't bash them, but I seldom purchase them either. I base the whole of my feeding structure on fresh. You can see on the feed labels the packaged date or code. I find that local grain, turned into local feed has the shortest time spent in or on a shelf in the warehouse. So I choose by freshness date, not so much by brand. Fresher is better I believe. I use IFA because it is the feed with the shortest shelf time. It costs less than national brands, but I would pay more for freshness. Also there are no preservative components.
I do not choose to pay more for old stock national brands. IFA carries Purina I believe, but it is solely because of customers asking for it. They are in the business of selling you what you want. That does not equate into what is best. Fancy sacks and slick advertising won't make up for extra time on the shelf, the truck or the warehouse. I have seen some very old stock at some of the other feed stores in our area. All things being equal, the fresher the better. A tight supply chain is of greater value than one made from 'only the finest grains'. Everyone, for the most part, uses the finest, freshest grains they can get. Production dates on IFA feed is marked in plain text. Others us a 'code' that after some work you may be able to figure out. It is not in plain text because it can be old stock.
It might be of use for members who don't need large sacks, to split one and benefit from fresher feed. I saw at the IFA in Ogden on twelfth street, a dispenser that would let you buy feed by the pound, sort of like a big gum ball machine. That might be another way to get smaller amounts of feed, but still fresh. I also have seen 25 pound/half sacks at IFA during the bird season.
Do what is right for you, you always know best for your conditions and your birds,
RJ
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