Marketing Molasses in the Feed-Mixing Industry

Excerpts from the report: Livestock feed has supplanted fermentation alcohol as the primary market outlet for molasses since World War II. The use of molasses for feed mixing in the years 1951, 1952, and 1953 was evaluated from a survey of 227 firms that produced almost 28 percent of the total mixed feed reported by the industry. However, any summation of molasses in mixed feeds requires measurements at several stages in the feed marketing process. The mixed feed or mixing concentrate produced by one mill becomes a mixing ingredient at another mill. The product of the latter mill may be combined with other grain or with hay by feed mixers on the farm. Molasses can be added at any step in the process. This report is the third in a series devoted to economic evaluation of the marketing of molasses to the livestock feeding industry. The first dealt with economic aspects of using molasses by livestock raisers; the second report dealt with the modes of transportation for bulk molasses and the advantages of each mode between seaport terminals, feed-mixing centers, and inland livestock feeding areas. This third report gives the results of a survey of the mixed-feeds industry as a market for industrial molasses. It evaluates (1) molasses in mixed feeds in competition with other carbohydrates and (2) the special attributes of molasses in mixed feeds, such as a binder, dust settler, and appetizer.