[Mel in N.C.]

We are in central North Carolina and are paying $8.75 for a 40 pound bag of beet pulp. We're interested in finding out what people are having to pay in other parts of the country. Any info would be appreciated!

 

[Guest]

Hi-

Im just curious as to what you use beet pulp for?

 

[comfortablynumb]

here its about 9 bucks a 50 pound bag...

beet pulp is whats left from crushed squeezed sugarbeets after they squeeze the sugar out. it is extreamly high in digestable fiber, about average protien and little fat. I used to feed it to my horse, but the cost set me back to the total pellet feed thats only 7 bucks a bag... he foundered and has to have a controled diet. beet pulp is a fantastic hay replacer, its digestable fiber content is higher than hay, and the horses love it because its still a little sweet. its good stuff for a horse with heaves, you can wet it with warm water and it plumps up a bit and smells really good...
I had a pony that ate little else because he needed a dust free environment, he was as heathy as.. well a horse.
due to its high fiber/energy content it isnt a "hot" feed, it is pretty much the same as feeding high quality timithy hay, with a bit more protien and fiber... so its not something you can over feed them, they have to CHEW it a lot so they tend to eat it slower than hay also.
I dont know what other animals its good for but ive heard everything from goats to dogs....
if you can get it cheap, its good food. if your short on hay, its an excellent replacer.
I used it in my garden one year it holds water better than peat moss. and the sugar gives a boost to the veggies.

 

[Jackpine Savage]

I hear it works great in dairy rations too. In certain times of the year you can get it free out in the Red River Valley. Just have to pay for trucking. Thats the wet product.

 

[Guest]

I paid $9.95 for a 50 pound bag and had to wait a week for the special order to come in.....

If i wanted to I could go about 6 hours to south Idaho and get bulk beet pulp for quit a bit less, but it is something you have to be carefull feeding to animals as it swells up and can cause the stomache to stop functioning properly as it did in my wifes mare.... we used it for stopping a mild bout of diarhea but did not get it soaked up enuff i spose.... and it took a few hours and some olive oil to get the stomache started working agin.

 

[Debbie in MO]

Beet pulp shreds are about $8.50 a bag here in east central Missouri, where I buy it, anyway. I use it as a supplement to hay when the hay quality is less than ideal. It is said in some circles that you can feed it dry, but I always soak it. It should not replace more than 25-30% of the horse's hay ration, as it is missing vitamins in hay and is Very low in Potassium. (Says so on the bag) You could add some wheat bran to help replace some of the lost Potassium. That said, it is a very high energy forage, but unlike grain, has a wonderful low glycemic index. I do endurance racing, and we use it at competitions. We are always fighting dehydration, so we feed it sloppy wet. It's perfect for us. A equine nutritionist on an endurance board once said, a good way to think of beet pulp is halfway between grain and hay.