SBM available from Southern States

[Doc-t]

Southern States SBM is abundant and has been discussed a lot in the FB group. It is produced by Cargill which is the parent company of Nutrena. They have the warning not to feed this as the exclusive feed to horses but our group investigators found that it is the same SBM as in their horse feeds. They just don’t want the horse owners to stop feeding their other products as a business decision.

All are looking forward to your reports.

[JulianneR]

I picked up a 50 lb bag last week. It was in a plain bag with no label. There is the occasional pellet-looking piece of material mixed in, but looks otherwise clean.

[SandraC]

My farmers exchange sells SBM and was/is a Southern States/ProElite dealer. I ran into the same “pellet of unknown origin” in our bags about 8 months ago. Not just a few were in there, but a lot were in there. I returned the entire bag and said I’d like to know what that was. They had no idea but contacted the mill to find out what was going on. Two of the other bags I purchased at the same time had some mixed in. We needed the meal, so we screened out the pellets. Turns out (not unexpected) that it was a cleaning issue at the mill. They run everything through those milling machines should clean them out after different runs, but obviously they don’t. So the pellets left ran through and into the SBM bags. Ultimately I started getting mine from another smaller feed store that “resifted” it and rebagged it when it came in.

[JulianneR]

Hi SandraC — thanks for that info! For this bag, I think I can manage with screening, but I will call this issue to the attention of the people at my Southern States. Interestingly, there is a new person in charge of the inventory there, and she was very helpful and asked my what my needs were so she could keep the right things in stock. That’s a positive sign 🙂 Alternatively, I may have another source for the SBM from a smaller mill, as you mentioned. It is a bit pricier but in the grand scheme of things, not really! Will keep everyone posted.

[Kathy]

I’ve found a large variety of things in my SBM from various sources. I’ve taken to screening all SBM before feeding to my horses. I found some nifty gold-miners screens on Amazon that fit on a five-gallon bucket.

SE Patented Stackable 13-1/4″ Sifting Pan, 1/4″ Mesh Screen – GP2-14 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B0T5Z2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_EC5WJGG0BH0D9XEMBD70?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[JulianneR]

Thanks for the tip, Kathy. I assume the 1/4″ screen is the best size to allow the SBM through while trapping the extraneous matter? I have found a few stray corn kernels and some pellets. I’ll give the screen a try!

[Kathy]

I sometimes use a smaller screen with a really messy bag but it takes forever to sift. The 1/4 gets most corn and pellets and is quick and easy and is what I use 95% of the time.

[JulianneR]

I actually got tired of sifting and picking stuff out so I sourced some SBM from a mill in CA. It’s organic/non-GMO (which is a plus in my book, but prob not completely necessary), but the quality is exceptional. It cost a lot to ship, too. Totally worth it for me, though, and not too crazy in the grand scheme of what we spend on our horses.

[administrator]

Our SBM here in south FL is shipped in to our feed dealer (all farm animals) from Sandusky OH. There is never any foreign material in it and it sells for $18 / 50 pound bag.

As with everything, quality is an “inside job” and you need to ask your feed dealer to find a different source of SBM. They may have to charge a bit more to receive the same profit. The frustration of horse owners trying to find clean SBM may drive them to making the change.

[JulianneR]

Thanks for the reply — yes, I should talk to my local Southern States about getting a cleaner source of SBM!