I was just at the feed store to pick up 200lbs of SBM that I had them order like two weeks ago. The guy at the counter asked me what I used if for probably since I have been picking it up with my car. Told him it was for my lawn and how it feeds the soil instead of the grass and helps to reduce watering. He seemed very understanding and said he learns something everyday. I told him I was going to be coming in at least every month to get 4 bags and he said he would keep some on hand for me!!!! Just wondering if anyone else gets weird questions or looks?

Constantly. My local feed mill is now used to the cadre of people that go, all of them folks I know and converted using Inquisition methods. After five years of this, they don't even blink any longer.

I've gotten questions at other places like "How many horses do you have?" "How many chinchilla do you have?" "What kind of rabbit do you have?" Uh, none, none, and...well, I have rabbits in the yard, I guess, so those would be the common rabbit.

Last year I had mentioned to someone at work that I was looking for soybean meal to use on the lawn. Apparently it spread out back to the shop because our maintenance guy came up a couple days later curious about it and asked why I would put it on the grass. He got a kick out of it. I work in an area, and with a lot of people that also farm on the side.

Feed stores do not like keeping SBM meal on hand because it is very perishable because of the high oil content and on the top menu selection for every critter on earth and will draw them in from miles away.

texasweed wrote:Feed stores do not like keeping SBM meal on hand because it is very perishable because of the high oil content and on the top menu selection for every critter on earth and will draw them in from miles away.

As the mice both Mom and I got in our respective garages will attest. Mine was a minor incursion, caught early. Mom had seven in the basement.

MorpheusPA wrote:

texasweed wrote:Feed stores do not like keeping SBM meal on hand because it is very perishable because of the high oil content and on the top menu selection for every critter on earth and will draw them in from miles away.

As the mice both Mom and I got in our respective garages will attest. Mine was a minor incursion, caught early. Mom had seven in the basement.

Mice, rats, humans, bugs, cats, dogs, opossum, coons you name it, SBM is on top of the preferred menu. Add a little moisture and heat and you have prime stinking mess that draws then in from miles.

Hey TW - I'm not questioning your info, but I was under the impression that SBM was the byproduct after the Soybean oil was extracted. If it's oily, that would indicate they're pretty inefficient at extracting the oils.

A little research (Click here for more information) says yes, but processes vary. The press method wouldn't be that efficient, but the article says the oil's practically a by-product of production anyway.

Hexane extraction is more efficient but still doesn't get all of it. I've seen pomace olive oils that were so abused to get the last of the oil that there are bits of olive in it.

I don't know which one is more common and the article is rather long. I'll read it later; I've gotta step out for a bit (in this weather!)

andy10917 wrote:Hey TW - I'm not questioning your info, but I was under the impression that SBM was the byproduct after the Soybean oil was extracted. If it's oily, that would indicate they're pretty inefficient at extracting the oils.

No problem Andy, but in my opinion it is the exact opposite.

Soy is a low oil content product of 15 to 20% oil. Compared to rapeseed and sun flower it is a very low oil product, and oil is a secondary waste product after crushing. Soy Bean is a protein food product.

After crushing the bean still contains oil as it is a fibrous product and acts somewhat like a sponge.You cannot remove all the oil unless you use a steam/heat refining process which depletes or destroys the protein content. Soy is a protein product for food, oil from crushing is a waste product which Morph pointed out. Just like corn. oil is a by product and extra profit from processing.

So SBM bought at the feed store is raw processed and crushed which removes quite a bit of the oil, but still present which make up a good nutrient and calorie source. which means high energy food source.

I am not a scientist or nutritionist, just a farmer with a decent understanding and educated as an engineer. Strange huh?

What really ticks me off is Bio Desiel and using Soy Beans as the source stock. In that process you render the oil out with heat and pressure basically destroying the food protein to extract the oil so it can be burned as motor fuel. Call me old fashioned or religious traditionalist but you do not cook your laying hens, breeding stock, or the Golden Goose for food or fuel unless they get old and quit producing..

I am not a scientist or nutritionist, just a farmer with a decent understanding and educated as an engineer. Strange huh?

Yeah, so? I'm a suburbanite with some background with biochemistry and a degree in Psychology, that designs enormous databases of stuff. And I like dirt. Go figure.

andy10917 wrote:background with biochemistry and a degree in Psychology, And I like dirt.

So does that mean you can talk germs and dirt to death?

"So how does infecting people make you feel? Do you really think this is the best life-path for you? I understand that you have few role models and come from a single-parent cellular division, and this can present challenges..."

MorpheusPA wrote:"So how does infecting people make you feel? Do you really think this is the best life-path for you?

Huh? You lost me what are you talking about?

Talking to germs and dirt.

Not that I don't talk to my plants. Often, just "Very good." Occasionally, "Tell your little friend she has one week to start blooming or there's going to be a hole for you to grow into."

andy10917 wrote:

I am not a scientist or nutritionist, just a farmer with a decent understanding and educated as an engineer. Strange huh?

Yeah, so? I'm a suburbanite with some background with biochemistry and a degree in Psychology, that designs enormous databases of stuff. And I like dirt. Go figure.

Andy, how does that make you feel?

Way back when I first started this I bought my corn meal at a store north of San Antonio. The manager was curious because I was not their run of the mill customer. I explained it all to him and he seemed to understand all the details. Next time I was in he asked more questions because more homeowners were coming in to buy it. Now he trains his people about it and always has some on hand. More recently I have been buying my supplies all over the place. Nobody ever asks and I don't offer. Down here there is an organic garden show on the radio on Saturday and Sunday so word gets around.

I dropped soybean meal last night. I purchase it from my local Agway and they seem unaware that it makes a good fertilizer and soil conditioner, though I'm trying to educate them.

gryd, how did they handle that information? Did they seem skeptical?

Not to hijack, but what is the better bang for the buck? Cracked corn at $11.79 or SBM at $17.99? Both are 50lb bags. Does the "nutritional value" of SBM to the lawn/soil differ substantially so as to make it a better buy?

Bentface1 wrote:Not to hijack, but what is the better bang for the buck? Cracked corn at $11.79 or SBM at $17.99? Both are 50lb bags. Does the "nutritional value" of SBM to the lawn/soil differ substantially so as to make it a better buy?

SBM for flat feeding value at roughly 7-1-2 (you can argue 7-2-1 and I won't disagree as it's marginal in either case). Corn at 1.65-0.65-0.40 is a terrible feeding, but great for fungal protection and soil transformation.

Cottonseed meal is pretty much identical to SBM and also great for feeding for our Southern folks.

To answer the original question, "Yes." I get the stupid looks every time I go to the feed store and pick-up SBM. I feel like I'm kind of a country boy at heart, but definitely not a farmer or anything. It's pretty obvious when I go in there too...usually after work wearing my golf shirt and khakis. They don't really ask me what I'm doing with it. They just fill my order and give me that "you don't belong here boy" kinda look.

Oh well...at least my lawn will look and smell nice:)