There’s plenty of bad economic news for producers these days: rising feed costs, rising fuel costs, rising equipment costs and rising labor costs. The good news is that feeding CRYSTALYX® Brand Supplements can make a significant difference in your bottom line.
Efficiency Is the Key
There has never been a greater need to be efficient. Efficiency in the use of labor and equipment is key, especially when you factor it into your overall cost. And reducing waste and shrinkage is an important factor in feed efficiency, as is maintaining performance and having supplementation that is convenient, as well as cost-effective.
Fuel costs alone have driven producers to look at ways to control costs. So supplementing with CRYSTALYX® means eliminating daily trips to the pasture, saving time and money. One producer who has found this to be true is Jim Graves of Wheatland, Wyoming. He supplements with CRYSTALYX® and has experienced cost savings and value. “Our supplement cost is about $30 to $35 per cow, per season,” Graves said. “We like the convenience, the time savings, the use of less equipment, and the way the cows perform. It’s easier than having to feed every day, especially when you have to fight the weather.”
It’s All in the Numbers
The cost of CRYSTALYX® has increased somewhat, but not nearly as much as the cost of other feed and supplement types and their delivery. While CRYSTALYX® has gone up 22 percent, hand-fed supplement costs have skyrocketed by 41 to 150 percent. If you take a 63-day time period and compare costs between CRYSTALYX® and a hand-fed supplement, you’ll see the difference.
In 2002, the hand-fed cost for supplementation was $25.19 per cow, while the CRYSTALYX® cost was $18.23. In 2008, the hand-fed cost over that same time span was $35.47 per cow, while the 63-day CRYSTALYX® cost was $22.36. The whole story is that hand-fed costs were up 41 percent, while CRYSTALYX® costs were up only 22 percent. Meaning, the cost-per-day impact of supplementing due to an upward price jump in ingredients is not as significant when feeding CRYSTALYX.®
Consider All the Costs
If you just look at the price tag of the supplement itself, you’re not getting the entire picture. This is where CRYSTAL CLEAR ECONOMYX® can help. Start with the supplement cost (don’t forget to factor in waste) and the delivery costs to get your total cost per head, per day. (Delivery costs include equipment, labor, delivery vehicle, and tractor costs.) The chart below shows the various costs for a cattle feeding operation, comparing the use of CRYSTALYX® VP®-30, cubes, liquid and DDGS. CRYSTALYX® is the clear winner, with a total cost difference from $1,000 to $4,200.
CRYSTALYX® is the only low-moisture block supplement program designed to get results and save producers time and money. Evaluate your costs and compare the returns. Why spend more for supplements that are expensive to deliver when the choice is clearly CRYSTALYX®?
