How To Choose The Best Animal Feed.

Our Animal Feed Guide For Raising Healthy Animals.

Keeping up with changes in the animal feed market can be challenging. You might be wondering if you should choose organic, soy-free, Non-GMO or just avoid feed altogether and focus on high-quality pasture. Depending on your goals, you may focus on any one of these options. Here’s how we handle it on our farm with some guidance for making the right decision for your animals:

• Non-GMO Verified Feed: Choosing feed that the Non-GMO Project has verified is a great way to ensure you’re giving your animals high-quality, all-natural feed. The Non-GMO Project verifies food products by running them through rigorous testing to ensure they do not include bioengineered ingredients. Many GMO products are designed to withstand heavy pesticide use, which has been anecdotally shown to affect animal health and have a negative impact on the environment.
• Soy-Based or Soy-Free Feed: Soy is a relatively inexpensive protein included in many animal feed products. While current studies show it is an economical and safe option for all animals, some farmers find in certain cases that their livestock don’t do as well on a soy-based diet. In addition, some are concerned that soy in the feed could raise estrogen levels in the meat. We mill soy-based, non-GMO feed for a budget-friendly option as well as a high-quality soy-free alternative.
• Quality Grains: We source our grains from farms dedicated to growing high-quality grasses, corn, alfalfa, etc. We then mill the feed to the right consistency for the specific animal. We find quality grains and careful milling makes a significant difference in the health and happiness of our animals.
• Antibiotics & Hormones: Many manufacturers add antibiotics and hormones to animal feed to promote quicker growth and minimize morbidity. Respiratory disease is the number one cause of death for livestock and is often caused by stressful living conditions due to congested spaces and poor nutrition. While antibiotics and hormones can help in those stressful conditions, plenty of space and good nutrition can go a long way in growing healthy animals so that they shouldn’t need preventative antibiotics. We leave both antibiotics and hormones out of all our feed.