INSPECTION OF COMMERCIAL FEEDSTUFFS 

 By Philip H. Smith' 



With this bulletin Control Service resumes the practice of publishing the results 

 of the feed analyses discontinued two 3'ears ago. At that time it was believed 

 that, because of the frequent changes in ration ingredients made necessary by 

 shortages and Federal regulation, the anah-ses could be of little value in helping 

 the customer to decide on the relative value of feeds which might be sold at a 

 later date under revised and radically modified formulas. 



In retrospect it may be well to consider how well feed manufacturers have 

 been able to meet this unusual situation. Conformance to a guarantee of anah- 

 sis is to some extent a measure of the reliability of those who are responsible for 

 it. On the whole guarantees have been well maintained except for fat. Whether 

 or not the general lowering of the fat content of feeds affects their nutritive value 

 is debatable. However, a statement of minimum fat content is required by 

 statute and in many instances manufacturers would do well to lower fat guaran- 

 tees to meet the enforced use of ingredients which do not carry a high fat per- 

 centage. The restricted use of meat scrap, oil cakes and other high fat material 

 and the increased use of wheat meal account for this condition, particularly as 

 applied to poultry feeds. 



Up to the present animals and poultry have received a sufficient grain ration 

 to satisfy body requirements. Whether or not it has always been of the sort to 

 insure maximum production may be questioned. Production records indicate 

 that grain rations have been both ample and of good quality even though differ- 

 ing somewhat from accepted standards. 



The greater problem has been and will continue to be not so much a matter of 

 protein, fat, and fiber as the furnishing of the more obscure elements of the ration, 

 such as the essential vitamins and mineral elements. Regulations thus far 

 adopted have had this in mind. 



As a contribution to a general knowledge of commercial rations and ration 

 ingredients, particularly as applied to poultry feeds, considerable work has been 

 done which lies outside the scope of the feeding stuffs act. The results form a 

 part of this publication. No attempt is made to draw conclusions as to the 

 application of these data — a function which belongs more properly to the feeding 

 expert. 



In the following tables of the analyses of commercial feeds, wherever the brand 

 name is in whole or a part of the firm name, the brand name has been omitted. 

 This for the sake of brevity and simplification in printing. In every case identi- 

 fication is complete without it. 



^The following staff members assisted in the inspection: John W. Kuzmeski, Albert F. Spelnian. 

 Leo V. Crowley, C. Tyson Smith, and Henry T. Rodman, chemists; Frederick A. McLaughlin, 

 microscopist; James T. Howard, inspector; Joseph A. Martell, laboratory assistant; Cora B. 

 Grover, clerk. 



