RE: [RC] Beet pulp -What I've learned! - Terry Banister
The "pulp" is what is left over after processing the sugar beets. How much sugar is left with the pulp varies depending on who, how and when it is extruded. Therefore, the variences we are hearing in the product people are finding around the country.
The pulp is usually dried on the ground, which accounts for the "debris" that shows up. The OH Kruse/Western Milling Co (877-455-6313) in Calif. informed me that they have switched suppliers because of the amount of debris. Their current supplier dries the pulp on racks instead of the ground. I can vouch that I have found no animal parts or debris, and is much less dusty than prievious.
Some horse products originated from cattle products. For example, the red salt licks are for cattle, the minerals in them are cattle proportions, and the red is iron, which horses do not need supplemented. Alfalpha is cattle hay. So, the cattle/dairy industry being so huge, the distributors/suppliers are more likely to have hay analysis available on their alfalfa, but not the other types of hay. For beet pulp, molassas was added to cut down on the dust, and it didn't matter for cattle. The growing demand for beet pulp for horse industry is still evolving. Many of the commercial, bagged "complete feeds" and concentrates for horses are now "beet-pulp based". So the demand for beet pulp is growing. When there is a shortage in sugar-beet production, the available pulp is bought up by these large companies, leaving little beet pulp available to the individual feed stores.
I asked Western Milling why their shredded/loose beet pulp came in 40-lb bags and their pellets in 50-lb bags. Their answer was because the pellets are bagged elsewhere, and that company chooses to use 50-lb bags. AND The beet pulp that is used for pellets is run through a screening system before being compressed into pellets (therefore pellets are cleaner than shredded). I also noticed the shredded "loose" beet pulp I buy no longer comes in bags with a plastic liner, they are just triple layer of paper. I would think that this was to prevent "sweating" of the product in hot weather, which cuts down on the chance of mold.
Pellets being compressed are about 4 times more concentrated than shreds, pound for pound. Since more feedings can be obtained from a pound of pellets, it answers the question of why they are more economical. I only have one horse, so I do not need to be so thrift-minded.
RubberMaid/Sterlite tubs are an excellent way to store the beet pulp. They each (I forget how many quart-size they are) hold one 40-lb bag of shredded beet pulp, they stack/transport nicely (I can lift them to stack 3 high), and they are rodent-proof.
Most horse-boarding facilities won't soak beet pulp pellets for you, so the shreds still have value. I fill 1-gal. Zip-Loc baggies with the loose beet pulp, along with any powdered vit/min supplements, and they just dump it in my horse's feed bin 2xday and pour (a child's sand bucket) water over it. No matter who is feeding my horse, I know they can't screw it up. The pre-portioned Zip-Loc baggies of shreds/vit supp. are also nice for packing to travel. Just grab enough to feed 2 per day and go.
I would think that (supply-and-demand) phone calls from customers to these milling companies giving feedback on horse-owner needs would have some effect eventually.
Terry "May the Horse be with You"
> From: fhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx > To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: RE: [RC] Beet pulp pellets question > Date: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 01:08:39 -0600 > > > > I guess we are pretty lucky here in our part of the midwest, I have never > encountered any of this in our beet pulp shreds. Yuck! I don't think I would > feed dirty, musty smelling or rodent containing parts to my horses either > (gag,gag!) > > F Hall > > > On Jan 26, 2010, at 9:45 PM, Dream Weaver wrote: > > > The shreds are usually dirty, musty smelling and contain rodent parts. > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- > > > > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= >
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