The return on investment timeline can be short for sheep producers purchasing a TMR mixer.
That was the message from participants in a demo held daily in the sheep handling area during Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2024.
Michael Richards raises a crossbred Dorset/Rideau flock of ewes and market lambs in Haldimand County.
He was component feeding when he started, feeding dry hay in the morning, top-dressing with grain later in the day, then ultimately cleaning out what was left over in the feed bunk and feeding it to beef cattle.
Seeking cost savings and less feed waste, he bought a Jaylor “mini” TMR mixer. The results have been even better than he expected. Richards told the Wednesday afternoon “Benefits of Feeding With TMR” demo attendees that his feed costs went from $1.50 per head per day to $0.43 per head per day.
Labour savings were also significant.
This came as no surprise to ruminant nutritionist Courtney Vriens. Operator of Arthur-based Vriens Nutrition Consulting, she works with both dairy and meat sheep producers across Canada to fine-tune their flocks’ rations.
“Sheep can consume all these feed components in a very efficient manner,” she said — but not if they’re given the opportunity to sort. If grain is top-dressed for sheep in higher production stages, acidosis risk can increase. But this is mitigated when that same amount of grain is included in a TMR.
Vriens added that TMRs can allow sheep producers to switch away from expensive pelleted feeds and instead use more home-grown or alternative feeds such as corn distiller’s grains.
For the demo, Jaylor supplied a self-propelled, 91 cubic-foot mixer powered by a Honda engine and three hydraulic wheel motors.
“This mixer is quite capable of moving around inside or outside the barn,” explained Ontario/Manitoba territory manager Jerry Van Oude.
Other options in the company’s mini TMR mixer line include stationary, truck-mounted, trailer, or skidsteer-mounted.
A mix of straw, haylage and grain corn was created for the demo. Richards explained he uses corn silage in his TMR for much of the year but currently is waiting for corn harvest. Instead, he’s currently using oatlage, dry balage and some concentrate.