The Latest News From Our Feed Store

July-August Newsletter

Brian Higby - Friday, July 31, 2015

MOVING FORWARD

Last newsletter we were talking about Spring weather and how nice it was. Now it’s nearly July and things are starting to heat up! Hey we live in California...we love it right? Fire up the BBQ!

We have started discussing our Annual Customer Appreciation day in October (right now the tentative date is Saturday, October 10). Blink your eyes twice and it will be here! Again we are looking forward to having a great day of fun, food, and surprises. Be there!

NEW HAY

Speaking of surprises, really good news if you are in the hay market! We have really nice Oat hay, fine to medium stem size, and it is feeding well. The Oat mix or Three way is coarse stemmed, but by most accounts is feeding well. Some of the Rye hay got ruined by an untimely rain, but we do have quite a bit that was baled later. By the time you get this newsletter we will have new Alfalfa hay as well.

Guess what...hay prices are down! We haven’t seen prices this low for years! Why is this? Aren’t we in a drought? One explanation actually has to do with the drought! Rice growers are not able to get enough water to grow their rice, so instead they planted winter oat and rye hay. What’s the result? So much hay available the price is down! Things have a way of going full circle don’t they? Anyway for your hay this year it’s pretty good news!

FEED COST

Another pleasant surprise...feed prices are trending downward! It seems that the corn crop forecast looks really good at the moment which is keeping things very stable. The feed price lists aren’t changing drastically but are just a few cents down. Compared with a few months back when things were going up so fast we couldn’t keep up, this new trend is a welcome change.

FENCING AND GATES (STEEL)

The cost of steel has been relatively stable for some time now. We have seen one or two companies take a modest increase but most are steady as she goes. We sold a record number of water troughs this year! I think everyone is getting in to using troughs as planters for their gardens! We have some ourselves and it makes it really nice to have everything growing at waist height...easy to weed, easy to pick. You might want to try one!

Thanks as always for your business!

Roland

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May / June Newletter

Brian Higby - Thursday, April 30, 2015

SPRINGTIME WEATHER!

We definitely need more rain, but other than that we don’t have much to complain about when it comes to our weather. At least we got some rain and we are all thankful for that! We have been enjoying some beautiful days and evenings and with the warmer weather you may have noted that there is hay being cut. Some got rained on and is now cattle feed, but more will be on the way soon. With the warmer weather we need to make changes in the way we store our feed. You may have been storing your feed in a steel or plastic container to keep it dry through the winter and that is great! However now that things are heating up that feed needs to “breathe”, especially if at any time during the day the sun hits the container. Otherwise what happens is the feed “sweats” and becomes moist...then we have moldy feed! This is true of all the Stable Mix products that come in barrels as well. Make sure to loosen the screw tops to allow that moisture to escape and not create a problem for you. Here at the store the pallets of feed are shipped to us wrapped with plastic. That plastic needs to come off the pallet as soon as it gets here otherwise the feed cannot “breathe” and can mold. If at your facility you buy pallets of feed you need to do the same. Also do whatever is feasible to keep the storage area as cool as possible.

Something else to think about as Spring Show and May Fair are winding down is that leftover show feed for whatever kind of animal you had. Be cautious about feeding it to your horse or pony! It may contain a medication that is toxic to horses! Many of the feeds shouldn’t be fed to poultry either. If you have any questions about this call Scott or myself.

OOPS! NOBODY IS PERFECT

I wanted to take a section of this month’s newsletter and outline what the procedure is when we make a mistake in loading your feed, or what to do if you get a moldy, buggy, or a bag of feed with something else wrong with it. This also goes for a bale of hay with a problem.

1) If we forget to load something for you, or load the wrong item please let us know as soon as you find out. This helps us to correct our inventory numbers and make arrangements to resolve the problem right away. This also helps us to work with the employee who loaded incorrectly. Please don’t just wait until the next time you come in.

2) If you get a bad bale of hay, please tie it back up and bring it back to us. If we delivered it, set it aside until your next delivery. This still has value and can be sold as cow hay as their tolerance is much wider for weeds and mold. One of our hay vendors actually wants all bad hay returned so he can feed it to his own cattle. I realize this is nearly impossible with Mountain Grass because it tends to fall apart when opened. In that case bring a small sample of what the problem was back to us so we can report it back to the grower. One exception to the above is when you find a part of a dead animal in a bale. This needs to be thrown away and has no value. We will take care of replacing it for you. Also I wanted to briefly talk about a dead animal in the hay. Occasionally we get a call from someone that is really upset about a dead rabbit or snake in a bale. Next time you see hay being cut, pull over and notice the equipment that mows the hay down and leaves it in a row is at least 16 feet wide or more. This moves through the field of hay that is 2 to 4 feet high when standing and moves at a fairly high rate of speed. It is impossible for the driver to see what is in that hay, be it a dead animal or garbage. Then about 10 days later the baler comes through and quickly picks up that row and puts it in a bale. Again the driver has no idea what is under the row of hay. The point is, no one wanted to give you a dead animal in the bale. It just occasionally happens. Let us know and we will gladly replace it.

3) If you get a bad bag of feed, every manufacturer we deal with requires at least a sample of the problem feed and the code off the bag it came in. With that code, some of the feed mills can actually narrow that particular bag of feed down to which shift it was bagged on and who was working during that shift. By precisely locating where the problem started helps in determining if they should do a feed recall. Obviously it also helps with future quality control. So if at all possible return the feed in its original bag. If this isn’t possible still bring a sample of the bad feed and we will take it up with the feed rep. This is much more time consuming for us and doesn’t necessarily help the mill run down where the problem started. Without the date code the mill simply doesn’t have enough information to do anything but issue credit. Also it is worth mentioning that over the years we have dealt with many different feed mills. We currently receive feed from at least 5 mills and I can tell you that problems are rare but they happen with every one of them. The bottom line is look at the feed or the hay. Smell it. If you note any issue with it, or your animal notices something strange...stop! Bring it back and we will exchange it. Think of it like going to the grocery store and bringing home something that is spoiled. The store will surely take care of you if you return it, but you wouldn’t dream of eating it.

I hope these guidelines help. If we can get your help with them, it helps streamline things for us and lets us focus on taking care of your needs even better! Thanks for taking a minute to look at them and we look forward to working with you all for years to come!

We appreciate you!

Roland

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May / June Sales

Brian Higby - Thursday, April 30, 2015

Can you believe it? It's the first and our sales are ready! Look at the Sales page to see what's discounted. We have sales on........

-All Justin and Ariat Boots

-Farnam Super Masks

-Rubbermaid Carts

-Showsheen

-Ultrashield Insect Control

-Nutro Natural Choice Adult Lamb and Rice

-Iams Cat Original

-PetLock Plus

-Stella & Chewy's Meal Mixers

-Mallard Creek Shavings & Bedding

-Assorted "Endcap" specials

Sales are valid through June 30th 2015 while supplies last, unless otherwise noted. We look forward to seeing you soon!

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March/April Sales

Brian Higby - Friday, March 06, 2015

We did a little better this month. Our Sales are ready. Head over to our Sales page to see what's discounted. We have sales on........

-All Justin and Ariat Boots

-Wahl Pocket Pro Clippers

-Apple Elite Elecrolyte 5lb Bucket

-Apple Elite Paste

-Safegaurd Equine Wormer

-Greenies Dog Treats

-Nutro Max Cat

-Pure Vita

-Dried Meal Worms

-Liberty 50 Plus IGR Spot

-Purina Equine Senior

Sales are good through April 30th 2015 while supplies last. Hope to see you at the feedstore!

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March/April Newsletter

Brian Higby - Friday, March 06, 2015

CATCHING UP!

Wow! Seems like just a couple of weeks since the last newsletter! ...... Wait! ......... Oh! It was just a couple of weeks ago! We kind of got overwhelmed by the busy nature of our business as we started the New Year and got behind.

Well, now we are catching up! We are still going through the pains of integrating our Quick Books P.O.S. and Financial but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Whew! We got our tax information to our CPA in plenty of time to meet the March 15 filing date for Corporations.

About two weeks ago we had a really nice event featuring Dr. Nancy Martin DVM. She addressed a number of topics related to canine health and nutrition. We had a light dinner and some nice appetizers all prepared by Higby’s Staff. Many who attended made comments about how informative the talk was and how much they enjoyed the event overall. This was the first seminar we have ever done that was related to pets. Of course as you know we have done many about horses! We may just have to do more in the future! Dr. Martin is well respected in the cattle world as well as with pets. Thought I would throw that in as some of you may not know that she works the large animals with the local ranchers as well! Thanks again to Nancy for helping us put on such a nice event!

WE HAVE GONE SOLAR!

Last December we had a 10K solar array installed. It has reached the point that it is cost effective to put solar in. Add that to the 30 percent tax rebate available and it made total sense to have it installed. DG Electric (Dan Granillo) did a beautiful job installing the unit at a very competitive price. He also completed the installation in time for us to get the tax write off in on our 2014 taxes (the rebate is available in 2015 as well). The general feeling is this rebate will not be renewed because it makes financial sense to install Solar even if there is no tax incentive. We decided to put the unit on the ground as opposed to on the roof so we could keep the panels clean, etc. without climbing on top of the store and slipping and sliding around on the metal roof. I already took a good fall about 22 years ago.....don’t need to do that again!

BUSINESS IN GENERAL

We got our truckloads of T-posts and Red Brand Wire late February. Something to note is when you buy Red Brand fencing from us you are entitled to a rebate and your purchase helps increase an annual check Red Brand sends to Dixon FFA. This is called Red Brand’s Homegrown program and you can look it up on Red Brand’s Website. Click on Homegrown and type our zip code in and we will pop up. The rebate form is there and we also have them in the store. To enroll in this program we make a 750 dollar annual donation to the National FFA Association and Red Brand does the rest! Nice program!

Thanks for all your support over the past 30 years!

Roland

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Last minute Sale! Helen's Best Layer Pellet

Brian Higby - Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Helen's Best Layer Pellet 50# is on sale $1 off, through March 15th 2015. Normal price is $17.99. It's a great feed for your chickens featuring:

- Balanced Protein and Energy

- Enzymes - Increases utilization of the feed

- Yeast - Increases the good bacteria in the gut

- Chelated Minerals - To achieve maximum absorption

- Flax - Omega 3 fatty acids to strengthen the immune system

- Sel-Plex - Digestible source of selenium

- Odoraize - Lowers the ammonia content of the manure = less manure smell

- Calcium - For shell integrity

- 1/8" pellet - Ease in consumption with the benefits of a pellet

All of this means your chickens are healthier and will lay better. The eggs will be more consistent in size (lessons the chance for egg binding) and you'll have a cleaner egg.

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January/February Sales

Brian Higby - Thursday, February 05, 2015

Finally!! Our January/February Sales are posted! Head over to our Sales page to see what's discounted. We have sales on........

-Galvanized Garbage Cans

-Equine Ivermectin

-Farriers Formula

-CoFlex Bandages

-Wahl Pro Series Plus Cordless Clippers

-Nutrena Safe Choice

-Horse Blankets and Rain Sheets

-Winter Dog Coats and Sweaters

-Dried Meal Worms

-Blitz Dog Food Treats

-Winter Riding Apparel

Sales are good through Feb 28th 2015 while supplies last. Hope to see you at the feedstore!

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January/February Newsletter

Brian Higby - Thursday, February 05, 2015

MORE GROWTH IN 2014 - First, I have to thank you all for making 2014 another successful year for Higby’s Feed! We do not take this for granted in today’s economy. As I said in the previous newsletter we made some changes toward the end of last year on our inventory and accounting procedures. For several reasons our goal is to have an accurate, up to date number on our inventory levels. The benefit to you is this helps us to have the product you need when you need it! The disadvantage is it makes us a little less flexible in how we do our paperwork. For our inventory control to work properly items must pass through our books in a timely manner, there is no other option. I guess it is just part of being a growing company. Anyway we are trying to make this transition “business as usual” as much as we possibly can. Thank you for your patience!

HAY AND FEED MARKETS

Our hay supply and pricing has been relatively stable. So far we are keeping all the different varieties we stock on hand. That includes Alfalfa, Orchard/Alfalfa, Oat, Oat Mix (3 way), Rye, Teff , and of course Mountain Grass. Not a bad selection! Some feed items seem to inch up while others come slightly down. Nothing earth shattering except for once in a while some ingredient in a bird seed mix will skyrocket in price. The pelleted feeds such as Stable Mix are inching upward but that is normal in the winter time.

STEEL MARKET

We are making some early buys on T posts and Wire to help us remain competitive in the fencing market. For the time being pricing is stable. Some of the gate companies are having small increases in a month or so. It looks to be a good year!

PET FOOD SEMINAR

We have another seminar planned! On Feb 19 at 6pm we would like to invite you to join us in welcoming our longtime friend Dr. Nancy Martin DVM of East Meets West Veterinary Services as our guest speaker. She will teach us how the correct balance of food and supplements contribute to a healthier dog. Discover how canines process and use proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Thinking about supplementing your dog’s diet? Dr Martin will discuss vitamin, mineral, and joint supplements. She will tell us about digestive and gut health and explain the role of omega fatty acids. This event requires you to sign up.... seating is limited. There is no cost to you to attend. Sign up by Tuesday Feb 17th! Look forward to seeing you there!

Thanks again for your business!!!!

ROLAND

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Do you have your horse covered? Does your horse need to be covered? Winter is here and it’s going to be cold.

Brian Higby - Thursday, November 27, 2014

Nowadays, horse blankets come in all varieties of sizes, shapes, and colors. From stylish, to well……at least it covers your horse.

How do you choose a good horse blanket? Believe it or not, horses have a natural mechanism to keep themselves warm. As winter approaches, they begin to shed their summer coat, and start growing their fuzzy winter coat. Their skin begins to produce more body oils helping to create a natural protection to moisture and cold. Much like many hairy creatures, when they get cold, the hairs stand up, crosses, and traps air next to the skin. The air gets heated by the body heat or stored heat from the sun, and then creates a little barrier of protection from the cold. When we blanket our horse, we remove that protection by flattening the hair. So if you put a thin blanket with no added warmth, your horse could actually be colder than without it. Buying a good quality rug, for the right conditions is very important.

So why do we even need to use horse blankets? In the “wild” don’t they survive just fine with that winter coat? Well, the answer is yes. In the wild, horses have more freedom. When the weather goes south, they can usually find shelter to fit their needs.

So what about our modern day horses in captivity? There are several factors to consider. First of all, every horse should always have access to shelter. We should never use a blanket or rug to substitute shade and shelter. That being said, usually just having shelter is enough for younger, heartier horses. But nowadays horses are living much longer than they used too, thanks to the supplements, feed, veterinary care available today, and of course the adoring love of their owners. As our horses get older, they may need a little help to stay warm with a blanket or rug. Aside from older horses, there are also some breeds that have more sensitive skin than others, and could benefit from a little protection from the elements.

Blanketing a horse though, isn’t as simple as put it on and forget. When buying a horse blanket, fit is very important. A badly fitting rug can affect its effectiveness to keep your horse warm/dry. If the rug is too small it can create problems with rubbing, and restriction of movement. If it’s too big, it can slip and twist and cause injury or other problems. As was mentioned in the beginning of the article, if the blanket is too thin, the horse could be colder, but also, if the blanket is to thick, it can cause the horse to sweat and become chilled.

In the end, every horse is different, but horse blankets and rugs can be a great aid to keeping your horse happy and healthy. If you need help finding the right blanket for your horse, give us a call, or come visit us in the store and we’ll be happy to help you.

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Closed Thanksgiving Day!

Brian Higby - Friday, November 21, 2014

We just wanted to let you know we will be closed November 27, Thanksgiving day. Thanks for your understanding. We will re-open Friday, November 28 at 8:00 a.m. See you then!

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