Buying raw materials: quality, season, moisture, samples
The most accurate formula in the world gives a bad feed if the maize is wet, the bran is cut with husk or the fish meal is stale. And the cheapest raw material on the market is often the most expensive once you count what it really brings. This lesson teaches you to buy like a manufacturer: judge a bag with your eyes, nose, hands and three simple tests, compare prices on the nutrient and not on the kilo, allow for the season and moisture, and take a sample that will tell the truth to the laboratory or to yourself two months later.
14 min read · 5-question quiz at the end
By Abdul Hussein ChoumanFounder of NEXTEKCI · Agnibilékrou hatchery since 2006This lesson is part of Level 11 — Making feed on the farm. It opens to registered students who have passed the level 10 exam. Levels 1 to 5 and the tracks remain readable by everyone.
- ✓Compare two raw materials on the cost per protein point or per unit of energy, with your own prices in letters
- ✓Judge the quality of maize, meals, fish meal and brans with field tests (salt jar, water, smell, grain sorting)
- ✓Calculate the weight loss of maize that dries and size the stock according to the season
- ✓Take, label and keep a representative sample of each lot bought