Courtesy of Fran Minnaert

Midwest Edition Electronic Newsletter

Recently, I attended two major events sponsored by LOLPF. The Retail Solutions Expo in Reno was absolutely outstanding---the best one yet. The training workshops were very beneficial, both educational and entertaining. I really encourage you to make every effort to attend one of the remaining Expos (Arlington, TX, Savannah, GA, or St. Paul, MN). The Expos in Arlington and Savannah will have much more training than the St. Paul Expo. The St. Paul Expo is more feed-oriented while the other two are focused more on retailing. You can earn product discounts that will more than pay for your expenses, so the cost of attendance should not be an issue. The vendor area will give you an opportunity to see new and different products you may want to carry in your business.

Calendar

Aug. 22-24    RETAIL SOLUTIONS EXPO - Arlington, TX   (Click here to view Arlington Expo flyer)   (Click here for Expo Sign-Up Form)

Sept. 12-13   RETAIL SOLUTIONS EXPO - St. Paul, MN   (Click here to view St. Paul Expo flyer)   (Click here for Expo Sign-Up Form)

Sept. 12   UPPER MIDWEST CONFERENCE FOR FEED DEPARTMENT MANAGERS & FEED DEALER OWNERS - Meet with your
                 peers throughout the Upper Midwest and share ideas to learn from each other.  Stay on the cutting edge of nutrition research and
                 technology from Land O'Lakes Purina Feed livestock teams.  Find out what's happening in the ingredient market.  A MUST attend
                 conference if you want to maximize sales, growth and profits.  (Click here to view details and registration information)

Sept. 26-28   RETAIL SOLUTIONS EXPO - Savannah, GA   (Click here to view Savannah Expo flyer)   (Click here for Expo Sign-Up Form)

          
        Make plans to attend a Retail Solutions Expo this year!  Two events in one!  Buying Expo and Retail
        Experience Training Conference!  Over 100 exhibiting companies plus feed . . .

        Buying specials, training sessions, prices and more . . . Retail Solutions Expo -- The Total Retail Experience!
          Ask your Land O'Lakes Purina Feed Representative for details.  You can't afford to stay home!

Upcoming Expo - St. Paul, MN - September 12th-13th

Don't miss the following sessions if your store location as aspirations to sell more Lifestyle Feeds:

                    "The Total Store Solutions Conference" on Tuesday, September 13, from 1:15 pm to 3:00 pm
                            - 1st Topic:  Reinventing Feed Retailing
                            - 2nd Topic:  Retail Financial Workshop
                    Buying Expo Opens:  3:00 pm - 6:00 pm
                    Wednesday, September 13th, 8:00 am - 9:00 am - Lake country Lifestyle Feed Training
                    Wednesday, September 13th, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm - buying Expo Open

Details are in the actual St. Paul Brochure.  (Click here to view brochure)

Please call (651) 292-1900 for your Hotel Rooms (Crown Plaza Riverfront).  Make plans to attend and sign up early to get the list of Expo specials in the mail prior to attending.  (Click here for Expo Sign-Up form)

Paul Homb
Retail Development, Land O'Lakes Purina Feed
(815) 541-3406
     E-Mail:  phomb@landolakes.com

Tasty Tubs

From the northern plains to the southern bayous, RangeLand™ Tubs are helping beef producers efficiently supplement forages and ease their workloads.

The cooked-molasses supplement line offers a balanced intake of protein, energy, vitamins and minerals to compensate for forage deficiencies and to help cows maintain body condition that meets reproductive demands. The low-moisture tubs also help ensure paced, consistent consumption of key nutrients.

RangeLand Tubs, manufactured by Land O’Lakes Purina Feed, LLC, at its Fremont, NE plant, are convenient to use, since they provide free-choice nutrient supplements in non-returnable containers that are easily dropped off in pastures.

But their value goes beyond time and labor savings. They also reduce waste and feeding cost.

“Producers find RangeLand Tubs are an economical alternative to other supplements because of their controlled dosage,” says John Aaron, manager of Valley Farmers Cooperative, Natchitoches, La.

Nathan Allbritton, who runs 1,000 head of cows near Grand Bayou, La., agrees. “Cost per head per day is fairly low with RangeLand Tubs compared to using supplement blocks,” he says. “The fact that they’re easy to use helps, too.”

Cows consume what they’re supposed to from the tubs because they can’t bite off or chew the hard, low-moisture product. To consume it, they are required to lick the surface of the tub’s nutrients, which are softened by moisture in the air.

The cooking process used to make RangeLand Tubs reduces moisture content to 3 to 5 percent, compared to 15 to 35 percent moisture in chemically hardened or poured products. This means less water and more nutrients per pound.

Consumption generally is 0.5 to 1 pound per head per day, considerably less than that of a chemically hardened product. That means producers have fewer tubs to replace, without sacrificing nutrition or cattle performance.

Sweetening the Pot “They eat what’s in the tub; that’s the big thing,” says Gary Braun, who with his brother Allan runs a 500-head cow herd in north-central South Dakota. They’ve been buying the molasses tubs from the farm store of North Central Farmers Elevator in nearby Ipswich since the tubs became available about four years ago.

Eliminating waste that came with the mineral product they fed previously is one of the best benefits of the tubs, the South Dakota brothers report. Before, bulls would tip over feeders, spilling their mineral contents onto the ground, the Brauns say. Also, rain caked the product, and winter weather froze it.

With RangeLand Tubs, they sometimes have to dump rainwater out of them, but there is no product or nutritional loss. And the tubs don’t get tipped over, or “maybe the bulls are tipping them back up because they’re always up,” adds Allan Braun.

The Brauns buy the plastic tubs by the pallet-load from Mike Geditz, manager of the North Central farm store, and drive them right out to their pastures. RangeLand Tubs also come in biodegradable fiber that can be left to break down in the pasture.

Ditto down South Northwest Louisiana beef producers like the convenience of RangeLand Tubs, too. They can drive up to the Natchitoches warehouse of Valley Farmers to load the tubs they need into their pickups, says Aaron. Once they drop them in their pastures, producers can forget about the tubs until they’re empty.

Aaron says most of his customers, including Allbritton, use RangeLand 30-13 Tubs, which provide a dual source of protein, including urea. Allbritton uses them to put weight back on his cows after he’s sold the calves in the fall. He feeds the tubs until clover comes back in pastures in February.

The Brauns use the RangeLand Mineral Tub from fall through winter. Then they use the 17 percent all-natural protein tub in the spring when cows are calving. They switch to the RangeLand Mineral Tub with Altosid in early May for fly control through the summer. Altosid insect growth regulator prevents development of horn flies in manure, increasing suckling calf and stocker weights by 15 to 50 pounds.

Kansas Fly Control “We’ve done several trials with the Altosid tubs,” says Ron Darling, manager of the Alden, Kan., location of Farmers Cooperative Union, based at Sterling. “This past year we had five pastures where the producer was able to get by without insect control ear tags. The Altosid fly control really works.”

Darling says the growth in the cooperative’s RangeLand Tubs business has largely come from word of mouth among producers, including Ed Fair and John Snider, who took part in the Altosid trials.

“Everybody knows everybody around here,” he says. “So when something works, word gets around.”

Most Valley Farmers customers use the RangeLand 30-13 Tub, thanks to the two sources of protein. “Producers like to put the tubs out in October, so cows don’t lose condition and require something else to recover,” Aaron says. “RangeLand Tubs make forages a whole lot better.”

For more information about RangeLand Tubs, visit www.beeflinks.com and look under pasture products.

Cattle Fitting Challenge

Land O'Lakes Purina Feeds is sponsoring a Cattle Fitting Competition at the 2006 Ak-Sar-Ben Livestock Exposition in Omaha.  The event is open to all 4-H members.  We are asking each dealer to contact their local Extension Agent in an effort to make sure a team from every county is represented at this event.  Entry deadline is August 18th.  (Click here for more information on the rules/eligibility and for details on this event)

Honor Roll Program

If one of your customers had a Grand or Reserve Champion that was fed one of the qualifying Honor Show Feed products, they are eligible for an "Honor Roll" Award.  Go to www.honorrollawards.com for more information or  to go directly to registration form Click Here.  All entries are due no later than 60 days after the qualifying show.

Breeding & Whelping - A Dog's Nutritional Needs

Fall is a popular time for breeding and whelping.  Whether your customer is breeding for business or pleasure, you may need to help them understand the nutritional needs placed on their dog.     (Click here to view article on "Feeding for Pregnancy and Lactation")

Move Up To Equine Merit^TM Promotion

The Move Up To Equine Merit™ promotion is well under way  You should have received your 50 -- "Buy 2, Get 2 Free" coupons and POS material in the mail.

If you do not have your kit supplies or you need extra shelf talkers, feed bag sticks, or ad slicks, please call Katherine at Promo Advantage (1-866-766-5520) or order online at www.equinemerit.com - Lake Country Apparel.

Coupons are still available by calling the Land O' Lakes Purina Mills office in St. Louis. Notify Cindy Hoelzer if you are in need of coupons (314) 317-5173).

Equine Promotions Featured By Heritage Trading Company

Check out the equine specials and promotions featured by Heritage Trading Company.  If you have any questions, you can call their customer service line at (888) 669-6050, Opt. 3.  (Click here for Featured Product flyer)

Useful Web Sites

• Lake Country Animal Nutrition - www.HonorAnimalNutrition.com
• Heritage Trading - www.heritage-trading.com
• Internal Revenue Service - www.irs.gov
• AgBusinessMail.Com - www.agbusinessmail.com
• FeedDealer.com - www.feeddealer.com
• Small Business Administration - www.sba.gov
• Strategic Mapping & Data Services - www.sm-and-ds.com
• United States Dept. of Agriculture - www.usda.gov

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Feed Co-Op Electronic Newsletter
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St. Louis, MO  63132