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charging for spent grain

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  • charging for spent grain

    We give all of our spent grain away to two different farmers, who come and get it twice a week. One of the farmers was telling me how lucky he was to be getting the spent grain , that he was the only farmer in his county that still had hay in the barn and wasn't having to buy it from Oklahoma (we had a bad drought this year in TN). Up until now I've been glad to just get rid of the spent grain, and wasn't thinking of trying to recoup some of our costs in buying the grain. But with our grain prices skyrocking up, I'm considering charging the farmers to get the spent grain. Is anyone else doing this, and how much are you charging?
    Linus Hall
    Yazoo Brewing
    Nashville, TN
    www.yazoobrew.com

  • #2
    We don't charge for spent grain, but we do occasionally get free pork, turkeys, or whatever the grain has been feeding................
    Paul Thomas
    Brewer
    Sockeye Brewing
    www.sockeyebrew.com

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    • #3
      We don't charge for the farmer/rancher to take the grain. We also receive garden veggies, organic goat milk, occasional pork cuts. Maybe this is a Montana thing.....
      Glacier Brewing Company
      406-883-2595
      info@glacierbrewing.com

      "who said what now?"

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      • #4
        If you charge for spent grain, the farmer may not feel as obliged to pick it up when you most prefer. Having spent grain around for a few extra days might be enough to convince you what a service he is doing for you.

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        • #5
          Don't charge him for all the reasons everyone has mentioned, but insist he put your bumper siticker on all of his trucks!

          Tom
          ECBC

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          • #6
            Tho only brewery i know of that sells it is AB in St. Louis. They dry it, load it on rail cars and sell as feed. As mentioned, your farmer keeps you from having wet grain around for days attracting flies and driving off customers. If you could dry it, and sit on it, it could be profitable, but i like the bumper sticker idea.
            Jeff Byrne

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            • #7
              dont burn your bridges

              you will rue the day you asked for money for what is to you a pile of crap!

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              • #8
                The farmer is really doing you a service, imagine if they didn't want it and you had to pay to get rid of it

                Count your blessings that he comes when you need him and recoup your costs with price increases of your product

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                • #9
                  OK, not a very popular suggestion. Just asking. I know that larger brewers do sell their grain, and was wondering if any of us smaller brewers do.
                  Linus Hall
                  Yazoo Brewing
                  Nashville, TN
                  www.yazoobrew.com

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                  • #10
                    A brewery I used to work at did sell the grain. They bought a big dump truck and delivered it to the farmer. I think the only reason they were able to charge for it was it saved the farmer from having to come get it. I am sure it was a break even kind of situation and not a real revenue stream for the brewery. Best to not tick off your farmer, they are getting harder to find!

                    -Beaux

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                    • #11
                      On the front range of Colorado there used to be a company called something like "ProGrain". They would pay to have grain removal equipment installed in breweries with the understanding that they get all the spent grain. Went quite well for awhile.
                      Glacier Brewing Company
                      406-883-2595
                      info@glacierbrewing.com

                      "who said what now?"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I have to pay to get rid of it

                        I searched high and low for farmers willing to take our grain... no takers. I even contacted my state dairy farmer group. It appears its too heavy and with fuel cost rising I couldn't find anyone intereseted. So now I have to haul it myself and pay for disposal (as compost). I did get one person interested in having me deliver it to his methane digester. So if any brewer in Seattle reads this and knows a farmer who picks up let me know.

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                        • #13
                          I've had various farmers bring their produce in exchange.

                          I had a beef farmer give us a hip of beef for our annual friends and family bbq. Had a pig from another.
                          Farm fresh eggs are a big bonus too.

                          No cash changes hands. I'm always very happy to see it go. I can't imagine how much it would cost if I had to pay someone to take it away.
                          Liam McKenna
                          www.yellowbellybrewery.com

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                          • #14
                            I've heard that the big breweries are charging €40.00 / tonne for their wet spent grains. We weighed up the idea but decided against because the farmer who collects it is very reliable and flexible about when he collects etc.

                            The only way I can see to charge for it is by increasing demand through advertising etc. I've got the nutritional data

                            Dry Matter: 24.4 - 30%
                            Digestible protein: 13.9 - 21.3%
                            Lipid: 6.6 - 10.0%
                            Starch: 11.6%

                            5 Units of wet grains is roughly equivalent to one unit of barley so maybe look for 1/5th the cost of feed barley. The question you have to answer is whether recouping this relatively small amount of cash (especially if you have to advertise) is worth risking an important waste disposal service..?

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                            • #15
                              Unfortunately, for brewers and farmers, times have changed...

                              Hay prices are running about $4.25 a bale for Timothy in the Mid-Atlantic states. Most hay farmers in my area (Maryland) will only get 1 cutting this season due to the lack of rain. There is also very little pasture grass for the cows to eat.

                              Therefore, hay supplies are down, demand is up, and thus prices are up.
                              Also, other feed prices are up as well...sound familiar.

                              I have given away my spent grain for my entire brewing career until...yesterday.

                              I started looking putting feelers out to farmers in purchasing my spent grain about two months ago when malt prices were forcasted to be much higher for 2008.

                              I wasn't trying to make any money on the spent grain, just offset my increase grain costs a little.

                              I am fortunate to be in an area where there are lots of farmers and I found one who was willing to pay 1 cent/pound for spent grain to feed his goats. He picks up 1 time per week to minimize his fuel costs. He told me it's a great deal for him. I have other farmers now interrested due to the short supply of hay for the winter.

                              We live in a market economy. A farmer reduced his feed cost, I reduced my grain costs and we're both happy about the arrangement.

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