What are the most cost efficient feed ingredients that I can buy?

I need advice on what is most cost effective.

Depending on your geographical location, there are a variety of ingredients available to you. However, it is important to look at all of your available options, and not just the ingredients that you can buy from local processors. There are a plethora of by-products available today, many of which can easily replace one another in a ration. It is important to look at the crop size of each particular crop, and the crushing capacity of the processors, whether it be an ethanol plant that is producing distillers grain, a corn processor that is making corn hominy, or an oil mill that is crushing seed to make canola, sun, linseed, cotton, or soybean meal. If one particular crop is having a bad production year, you may be able to buy and contract more cost efficient by-products. Also, there will be years where by-products can be imported from other countries cheaper than domestic ingredients, such as whole cottonseed from Australia or canola meal from Canada. I encourage all producers to speak with a feed ingredient company who can offer a broad perspective on least-cost formulations. In this day and age, you will need a counterparty who can compare prices for you, and has the facilities to transload or import the most cost effective ingredients to your area. Please feel free to contact me with any specific questions you may have.