Massive corn shortage expected in 2022. Tips for long term storage of feed?

[Chickenric]

It’s being reported that due to fertilizer shortages and massive increases in cost, there will be huge crop shortages and shortages of many staples especially corn this year. Combined with the continuing supply chain breakdown and worker shortages this could get very bad.m in my opinion. Maybe it is overblown, but it got me thinking, what should we be doing to protect our flock and hedge against possible shortages?

How long can we store feed?

Can feed/corn be frozen or vacuum packed for a longer shelf life?

Alternatives to traditional feed?

Curious what y’all think about the possible shortage situation, overblown or potentially a huge problem?

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics...rtages-are-going-be-far-worse-were-being-told

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/factors-expected-to-drive-the-2022-corn-market

 

[Sara S]

It’s being reported that due to fertilizer shortages and massive increases in cost, there will be huge crop shortages and shortages of many staples especially corn this year. Combined with the continuing supply chain breakdown and worker shortages this could get very bad.m in my opinion. Maybe it is overblown, but it got me thinking, what should we be doing to protect our flock and hedge against possible shortages?

How long can we store feed?

Can feed/corn be frozen or vacuum packed for a longer shelf life?

Alternatives to traditional feed?

Curious what y’all think about the possible shortage situation, overblown or potentially a huge problem?

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics...rtages-are-going-be-far-worse-were-being-told

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/factors-expected-to-drive-the-2022-corn-market

I don’t know how quick it’s growing, but I have started gardening this week and I already have tomatoes, herbs of all kinds, beans and strawberries growing. i don’t know what I’m growing next but I havve a ton of Seeds to plant

 

[Sara S]

It’s being reported that due to fertilizer shortages and massive increases in cost, there will be huge crop shortages and shortages of many staples especially corn this year. Combined with the continuing supply chain breakdown and worker shortages this could get very bad.m in my opinion. Maybe it is overblown, but it got me thinking, what should we be doing to protect our flock and hedge against possible shortages?

How long can we store feed?

Can feed/corn be frozen or vacuum packed for a longer shelf life?

Alternatives to traditional feed?

Curious what y’all think about the possible shortage situation, overblown or potentially a huge problem?

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics...rtages-are-going-be-far-worse-were-being-told

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/factors-expected-to-drive-the-2022-corn-market

i think if worst comes to worst, they can have most table scraps. I think it’s a lotttle over blown but it’s definitely a present issue. chickens were wild animals before they were pets/ domesticated, so I think they’ll be okay

 

[glib]

i think if worst comes to worst, they can have most table scraps. I think it’s a lotttle over blown but it’s definitely a present issue. chickens were wild animals before they were pets/ domesticated, so I think they’ll be okay

I tend to agree with Sara, table scraps as far as they can go. But if you have more than one chicken per person, you will need something extra, and most of the current grain reserves have been bought, China alone soaking 60% of the existing world reserves. But it would not be the worst idea to buy and store any type of whole grains that you may find in metal trash cans (to keep rodents out). It also helps to have a grinder so they can be soaked, ground and fermented as the need arises. One of the advantages of fermentation is the increase in proteins, both due to bacteria breaking down some indigestible ones, and also getting some nitrogen from the air to make new ones.

 

[Kiki]

It’s being reported that due to fertilizer shortages and massive increases in cost, there will be huge crop shortages and shortages of many staples especially corn this year. Combined with the continuing supply chain breakdown and worker shortages this could get very bad.m in my opinion. Maybe it is overblown, but it got me thinking, what should we be doing to protect our flock and hedge against possible shortages?

How long can we store feed?

Can feed/corn be frozen or vacuum packed for a longer shelf life?

Alternatives to traditional feed?

Curious what y’all think about the possible shortage situation, overblown or potentially a huge problem?

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics...rtages-are-going-be-far-worse-were-being-told

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/factors-expected-to-drive-the-2022-corn-market

Welcome to BYC.
What do you currently feed your flock?
How many birds do you have total?

 

[Sara S]

I tend to agree with Sara, table scraps as far as they can go. But if you have more than one chicken per person, you will need something extra, and most of the current grain reserves have been bought, China alone soaking 60% of the existing world reserves. But it would not be the worst idea to buy and store any type of whole grains that you may find in metal trash cans (to keep rodents out). It also helps to have a grinder so they can be soaked, ground and fermented as the need arises. One of the advantages of fermentation is the increase in proteins, both due to bacteria breaking down some indigestible ones, and also getting some nitrogen from the air to make new ones.

thanks! I have 9 chickens (3 big for hens Chickens, 2 bantam hens (one is laying one is about to be, a silkie roo, and 3 month old pullets theyre big too,) I may just stop at the local dollar tree and stock up on oats/ canned veggies if this flares Up

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I don’t know how quick it’s growing, but I have started gardening this week and I already have tomatoes, herbs of all kinds, beans and strawberries growing. i don’t know what I’m growing next but I havve a ton of Seeds to plant

My birds love pumpkins, squash and cucumbers too if you want to try those veggies to grow too.

 

[Sara S]

My birds love pumpkins, squash and cucumbers too if you want to try those veggies to grow too.

Thanks!!! I will i into those and now they grow in florida

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

It’s being reported that due to fertilizer shortages and massive increases in cost, there will be huge crop shortages and shortages of many staples especially corn this year. Combined with the continuing supply chain breakdown and worker shortages this could get very bad.m in my opinion. Maybe it is overblown, but it got me thinking, what should we be doing to protect our flock and hedge against possible shortages?

How long can we store feed?

Can feed/corn be frozen or vacuum packed for a longer shelf life?

Alternatives to traditional feed?

Curious what y’all think about the possible shortage situation, overblown or potentially a huge problem?

https://www.zerohedge.com/economics...rtages-are-going-be-far-worse-were-being-told

https://www.agriculture.com/markets/factors-expected-to-drive-the-2022-corn-market

Not just fertilizer, also Roundup. If the bugs destroy crops, then...
We were organic dairying for a while, lots of people cheat. (and said it's no big deal. ) I'd say over 90% of them do, so there's no counting on organic solutions either.
We thought organic farming would fit more with the ethics we like to have, but when you have to decide to let your cow have a huge chance to die or give it antibiotics and have to sell it - we were done. Every single organic farmer we talked to said they "cheated" in some way or another.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I watch Ag Day, US Farm Report, and a few other "morning" (if by morning, you mean the period of time when the sun is having its coffee before getting up and going about its day) shows when I can't sleep. They've been discussing the impact of oil prices and supply chain disruptions on fertilizer supplies. Their overall assessment is that prices will come up further - how much further is very crop dependent, as some crops need far more nitrogen fertilizer than others, with estimates ranging from an extra $40 - $130 per acre in increased fertilizer costs. Supply chains are already flexing around increased transportation costs, and the trains are (mostly) moving again. I don't expect mass shortages, I do expect further inflationary pressures.

Dried whole grains - the sort of things that make up most chicken feed - store very well, and I expect my local mills will continue to do so. Once crushed, the extra surface area speeds oxidation, which diminishes some vitamins, but certainly not all. So I'm better off buying what they have stored, and only recently crushed, instead of buying what they have crushed, and trying to store it myself. Apart from oxygen, I also have to concern myself with moisture, the molds etc in my always moist air, insects, and rodents - that's a lot of extra risk for me to take on.

I'll be adjusting flock size further, considering increasing egg costs to my buyers, and continuing to develop my acres of weeds - thinking of scattering some combination of sorghum, teff, amaranth, buckwheat and/or hard winter wheat this Spring to add to the variety. The legumes, herbs, forbs, and grasses in my pasture are all doing ok to well, but I'm low on actual grains. Oh, and I'll be scattering more methi (fenugreek), too.

That said, my solutions are impractical for most, and even with my acres, and the assumed additional grain production, it only bends the feed curve a bit. Its impractical, and not cost effective, to try and provide a nutritionallly complete "home grown" feed for my birds - and I'm in one of the most forgiving climates in this nation.