Factors in Developing Grades and Standards for Blackstrap Molasses for Feed

Excerpts from the report Introduction: The major use for blackstrap molasses is for animal feed, either in mixed feeds or in liquid form. The composition of blackstrap molasses varies between producing areas and between raw sugar mills within an area. Different handling and marketing practices add to the variability found in the product at the different stages in the marketing process. Feed manufacturers using blackstrap molasses want a uniform product. Where uniformity in an ingredient cannot be obtained, the composition within a rather narrow range needs to be known. Standards or grades based on nutrients present in molasses are desirable for the following reasons: (1) To insure users a product which can be fed or mixed in feed mixtures on a uniform basis, (2) to afford a basis for marketing molasses so that its value in relation to other foods and feeds can be determined accurately, and (3) to insure producers and distributors a price for molasses in proportion to nutrients furnished. Since no uniform standards are available to measure the nutritive quality of molasses , data were collected for a study of the composition of feeding molasses entering the Gulf Coast area and of that distributed to various users in Texas, to determine the need for standards for blackstrap molasses produced and distributed for use in livestock feeds. The results of this study are described in this report.