Dairy, beef, swine and poultry producers, as well as other bulk feed buyers, now have direct access to the feed ingredients they need through Feedpail.com. The free service allows users to see prices and availability of more than 50 bulk feed ingredients such as fats and oils, animal proteins, grain byproducts, minerals and more.

Each week more than $200 million of bulk feed ingredients are bought and sold outside of the futures and option exchanges. The buying and selling process often requires multiple phone calls, emails and negotiations to complete a transaction. This time-intensive trading is solved through technology with the free Feedpail online service.

Feedpail was developed by Ryan Cooney, who wanted to create a quicker, easier and more enjoyable way to buy and sell feed ingredients. He says people involved in feeding livestock are considering a larger number of ingredient options today than ever before. But more and more these same people are limited by their available time and network of sellers they know.

“FeedPail solves that with instant access to a large network of available ingredients and easy-to-use functionality,“ Mr Cooney said.

Feed costs are the largest single component in raising livestock. Therefore, any efficiency gained on sourcing ingredients can have a large impact across the industry. Feedpail streamlines the price discovery and purchasing process of buying and selling feed ingredients. Anyone who buys or sells bulk feed ingredients, or is involved in the feed industry, can use the site to stay current on bulk feed ingredient costs and make purchasing decisions.

Feedpail is easy to use. Once an account is set up, sellers post available tons and buyers have the option to buy outright or bid on the tons. Users can search by feed ingredient and geography to find prices and availability. Once a quantity and price are agreed to, the contact information of the buyer and seller is shared so they can complete the transaction. All sales are kept confidential and are subject to each party’s terms, conditions and policies.

Feedpail not only simplifies a complex feed ingredient buying and selling system, it also offers new opportunities to both parties.

“Feedpail helps meet customers’ demands, but it can also open up new customers and markets for buyers and sellers, expanding the network for both groups,“ Mr Cooney said.

Price discovery is an added benefit of the new feed ingredient exchange. Feedpail makes it easy to spot check prices and users can use the service to monitor price changes, which will allow them to make more accurate buying and selling decisions.

Feedpail has also developed an email newsletter to distribute regular updates on bulk feed ingredient prices. Everyone who signs up for a free account on FeedPail can receive the newsletter to help them stay up-to-date on price changes and trends.

“The Feedpail service has the potential to be used by anyone in the livestock industry who is following bulk feed ingredient markets. All participants in the industry will benefit from being able to easily track and monitor prices and availability,“ Mr Cooney said.