Reading Feed Labels~

            What do they really tell you? 

Look Past the Guaranteed Analysis

When we look at feed tags, many of us are overwhelmed with information and frankly, don’t know what the information actually means.  In order to tell what is in your bag of feed, you have to look past the analysis.  It gives you a place to start, but here are some tools to make you an educated consumer. 

The guaranteed analysis will tell you the crude percentage or ppm (parts per million) levels of several nutrients, but the ingredient listing can tell you the real story.  In order to really know what you are buying, I encourage you to look for feeds that list their ingredients individually, not collectively.  The chart below gives you a sample of possible ingredients under each collective category. 

Next, you can consider the fat and fiber content of the feed.  Look for feeds that have a minimum of 3% fat and/or a maximum of 10% fiber.  If your feed has less fat and/or more fiber, you are assured that there is something in that bag of grain, besides grain!  If you then go to the ingredient list, you most likely will find terms like forage products or roughage products.  Forage products essentially are dried hay, which isn’t a bad thing, but I’d rather buy hay by the bale than in my $9 bag of grain! The Roughage products term can contain some not so digestible things (see Chart below).  Remember also, that the lower fat, higher fiber feeds will be less expensive per bag, but you’ll have to feed more of them to due to the “filler”, and therefore can be more expensive at the end of the month!

Making an Educated Comparison      

                So when looking at one product vs. another it is important to read the tags to determine the better buy.  Shown above are two feed tags side by side.  When looking at the guaranteed analysis, they look very similar.  Here are some important differences though. 

The tag on the left appears to have higher mineral levels than the other, but if you look at the ingredient list, you’ll notice that the bag on the right contains “chelated” minerals (proteinates).  These chelated minerals are 25-55% more available than their “inorganic” counterparts (sulfates and oxides).  For this reason, the bag on the right has lower gross levels, but actually nets higher levels based on availability.   

The next and more important thing to note, is that the tag on the right lists all of it’s ingredients individually.  This assures you of a fixed formula and consistency from bag to bag.  The tag on the left lists ingredients collectively, which allows them to “least cost” formulate and change the contents of your feed based on ingredient pricing.  In addition, it’s hard to know the quality of ingredients, for example, protein.  Currently the highest quality protein source for horses being added to feed is soybean meal, or a soybean product.  This assures you of the best growth and development vs. other lower quality protein sources.  When reading the bag on the left, you have no idea what they are using for a protein source because all you see is “plant protein by-products”.  Less expensive, lower quality sources may be used and you’d never know the difference. 

 Finally, when comparing feeds, and what most of us make buying decisions on is PRICE!  Take a look at the bottom of both tags.  The bag on the left initially appears to be less expensive, but when you look at the feeding directions you realize it isn’t!  The bag on the right is higher quality and more fortified, therefore you can feed less feed and actually spend less per day or per month even though the “bag” costs a few dollars more!  Read your tags and buy smart!

 By:  Kelly Ann Graber B.S., P.A.S.
Equine Nutrition Consultant for Progressive Nutrition
888-360-2204 or lkgraber@win-4-u.net

Equine Nutrition Library