The National Elk Refuge received its first shipments of alfalfa pellets this week for the winter supplemental feeding program.

As many as nine loads are being delivered each day from Sebs Feed and Supply in Terreton, Idaho, the successful bidder for the 2009 contract.

Each delivery truck hauls roughly 60,000 pounds of pellets, or 30 tons. The refuge expects to fill all three of its pellet sheds to capacity this fall, which will put more than 13,600,000 pounds, or 6,800 tons, of pellets on hand. More than 5.5 million pounds of pellets were fed to elk and bison during the 2009 feed season. The feeding season typically starts in late January.

This year the pellets cost $162 a ton, for a total cost of about $1.1 million to fill all three sheds. The cost is 45 percent cheaper than last year, and refuge managers took advantage of the lower price to stock up on feed. Officials expect this season’s pellet deliveries to last into next winter’s feeding season.

Pellet costs are evenly split between the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and jointly paid for through a cooperative agreement between the two agencies. Both the refuge and the state’s portion of the bill is primarily paid for with base budget funding.

Random pellet samples are bagged and mailed to a laboratory where digestible nutrients, including protein, are measured. A quality factor is assigned to each sample, representing the estimated feeding value of the hay used in the production of the pellets.

Inspections for quality are also conducted on-site by refuge staff. Three pellet samples per truckload are measured for length, with at least 80 percent of the pellets required to be 1.25 inches long.  The length requirement helps ensure the pellets can withstand handling as they are scooped up, loaded into feed trucks, and dispensed during the feed season. Refuge staff also measures the load for the percentage of “fines,” defined as any pellet or dust capable of passing through a 1/4-inch screen.

The test results not only provide quality control, but they can decrease the price paid per load. If a pellet delivery is determined to be substandard, the price for that load is correspondingly reduced.

“It’s a stretch to inspect every load,” deputy refuge manager Tom Reed said, “but we do as many inspections as possible and ensure we have personnel assigned every day to oversee the deliveries.”