You got to stand and face it, Life is so complicated-License issues with Making feed from your own farm grown ingredients in Oregon

Yesterday was cold and wet. Yesterday was not a day that inspired productivity.

However, I had a customer who ran out of pig feed and I had a bin of Chicken feed pellets setting in the barn absorbing moisture. So I pulled myself out of my easy chair and went to work...

I was thinking I should boost the peas and corn ratios for pigs or add barley. The mix was 17 percent protein but much of the protein was from clover seed and I feel peas are better for the pigs.

But, my customer was happy with the mix and so I filled a couple barrels for her.

I set up to bag the rest and put an ad on FaceBook marketplace when it hit me.

I can't sell a whole feed ration in Oregon without a license and label.

Well, that is not a big deal, I will get the license and three labels. Sum Pig, Super Chicken, and Oats/Alfalfa.

Except, that is not as simple as I thought.

If I am doing a custom mix for a customer, the label or invoice must include, my name and address, the customer, date of delivery, net weight, ingredients by name, guaranteed analysis, Crude Protein (min), Crude Fat (min), Crude Fiber (max), Moisture (max)

This is where it gets sticky. 

I can make custom mixes with a basic license. I can sell the customer the grain and then process it to the customer's specifications because I can take the customer's grain and charge him to process it. It seems like I don't need a license for that.

But it is a grey area.

AND, I can't sell what is left over.

If I go with a labeled feed then I have to keep the ingredients constant and I have to provide more information on the label. Of course I just have to do that once and print a bunch of labels. But, I just wanted to do batches for individuals. The business model was not to be selling 40lb bags to random individuals on Marketplace, the idea was to have regular monthly customers who would buy 40lb bags or 1000lb bags, or 55 gallon drums. Technically this also won't work because I can't make one batch and sell to 15 people.

Here is a link to the actual law. (Click Here)

This is my current build sheet for a ration. I can use this to figure the cost to me or the customer. I then add on the processing fees. Mixing grinding 1/2 hr $60, pellet mill 1 hr $120, extra ingredients: Garlic (1lb) $10, Red Pepper (1lb) $9. It appears I need to add Crude Fat and Crude Fiber. More complicated...

In the past I consulted with a local feed seller and I called the Department of Agriculture. No one really seemed to care what I was doing as I was raising my own ingredients and selling from my own farm.

At the minimum I am going to have to add columns for Crude Fat, and Crude Fiber to my spreadsheet. 

As the Straw Man said to Dorothy, "I wish I had a brain..."

This is the 4 mm pellet out of the new PelletMasters mill. This is the above mentioned chicken mix. Pellets held up pretty well in an open bin

This is my rather crude hopper. I have it mounted on a pallet so I can move it with the forklift. It is tall enough I can fill a 55 gallon drum. I need to put a block under the 40lb bags.

My plan to dedicate my PowerBook 180 to calculating feed has come to naught. For some reason it will not start up. The power supply still puts out 7.5 volts. It might be that storage in a damp shop has finally killed it. It also means I can't play Bolo on my AppleTalk network anymore...