Feed costs are a major consideration for every livestock owner. For commercial producers, it deeply impacts profitability and whether they stay in business. For homesteaders raising their own food and fiber, feed cost impacts whether they can afford to grow their own, and how much they can produce. More and more equestrian, pet, and companion animal owners today find their animals are eating them out of house and home due to high prices, and face difficult choices, including herd reductions and placing animals out for adoption to families who can afford feed.
The only reliable way to dramatically reduce your feed costs is to grow your own. The lowest cost alternative would be perennial pasture in a hypothetical location with 48 inches of rain, healthy living soil, good drainage, temperate and frost free for a 12 month growing season, with no dry season, drought, or temperatures over 90 degrees. Oh, and no pest insects, voles, gophers, rabbits, or deer to steal your crop. Unfortunately, we don't live in a hypothetical world, so we need to look at alternatives that are more expensive than the ideal world's free feed, yet are less expensive than what you are locked into now.
The first major cost in growing your own living feed is the grow system itself, which is a one-time cost. Currently available turn-key systems are prohibitively expensive for most livestock owners, with small systems including controlled environment starting at roughly $13k and going up from there. Through some careful planning, and using readily available off-the-shelf components, rather than custom manufactured system components, you can build your grow system for a fraction of their price if you have the know-how. I have the know-how, and can either teach you through DIY materials, or design and build your system for you, and then train you to manage it, still at a fraction of their cost.
Once you have your grow system, your feed cost can either be minimal, moderate, or substantial depending on your system and environment choices, your seed costs, and what you personally consider minimal, moderate, or substantial given your financial resources. Your basic operating costs include seed, water (if on municipal sources), electrical (for pumps, lights, propagation heaters, etc), recurring light bulb replacement, sterilization inputs (mold prevention), and energy for environmental controls.
If you are only growing enough feed for one or two pleasure horses (or 3-6 sheep or goats), you can eliminate the cost of building a dedicated structure with water and electrical lines, and the corresponding energy costs for environmental control, by placing two or three shelving units in your home where you already have utilities and heat/cool for comfort of human habitants. Depending on your choices, and at what temperature you maintain your home, energy costs likely wouldn't add any more to your monthly utility bill than would occur if you added an extra pantry refrigerator or freezer. Any added water cost could likely be offset by taking a shorter shower once a week. If you feed straight barley grass, and can find sproutable grain for $12.85 per 45lbs, your daily feed cost (excluding utilities) would be eighty-six cents per horse (or 3 sheep or goats). As you add other healthful ingredients, it is very possible give your animals the best nutrition they've ever had for less than $1.50 a day at current seed/grain prices. Compare that to the nearly $19 for a three string bale of alfalfa or grass hay locally at the moment.
$1 per day feed is very achievable now, and as feed prices likely will only increase further in the future, growing your own living feed could prevent you reaching that financial tipping point where you no longer can afford to feed your livestock.
