Hi-Pro Feeds acquires Champion Feed Services

Hi-Pro Feeds has acquired Champion Feed Services Ltd., a group of companies including three feed mills, stores and an oat processing facility located in northern Alberta.
“Our goal is to make this a seamless transition for customers,” said Holly Nicoll, Hi-Pro Feeds director of marketing. “We will continue to manufacture the same [Champion] nutrition packages and products as customers have been receiving. We will take some time to listen and learn about the diverse capabilities and processes that Champion Feed Services has in place today, and incorporate the best of both companies going forward that meets the needs of our customers in this geographic region.”
The purchase also includes the assets of Champion Oat Processors, an addition that “ties nicely with its North American business for Hi-Pro Feeds.”
Hi-Pro Feeds founder Daren Kennett feels the oat side of the business will provide new opportunities: “We are excited to have a facility that can process, market and ship double- and triple-cleaned oats and oat groats to our U.S. and Canadian customers. Our customers have been asking for these high-end products and now we can include them in our offering.”
The company specifically looks to enhance its horse feed products with high-quality Canadian oats.
According to Feed International’s Top Feed Companies report, Hi-Pro Feeds ranked as the world’s 66th largest feed producer by volume. The company manufactured more than 1.5 million metric tons of compound feed in 2014.
The company operates 12 feed mills in the United States and western Canada. The Champion acquisition will expand Hi-Pro Feeds’ network throughout the province of Alberta with a total of seven mills from north to south.
“This will position us better to meet customer needs through our diverse portfolio of products and services, and manufacturing flexibility,” Nicoll said.
Hi-Pro Feeds plans to retain Champion Feed Services employees.
With the acquisition nearly complete short of a few administrative details, the final closing is expected to take place near the end of November.

Wenger’s Feed Mill forms new holding company

Wenger’s Feed Mill, Inc. is creating a holding company, The Wenger Group, and transitioning its three divisions (Feed, Ingredient, and Poultry) into wholly owned entities under The Wenger Group. The creation of the new holding company is in keeping with Wenger’s long-range strategic plan and is seen as a way to better position the company for future growth.
Wenger Feeds will continue to provide poultry and swine feed in the northeastern United States as a member of The Wenger Group. According to the company, customers can look forward to receiving the same high quality feed and service from Wenger’s as they have in the past and can continue to look to Wenger’s for their feed solutions for years to come under this new structure.
“After more than seventy years of serving our customers as Wenger’s Feed Mill, Inc., our growth and business environment have led us to decide to evolve into a different structure—one that better positions us for growth for the next seventy years,” noted Geoff Finch, president and chief operating officer.

Launch of Nutrify LLC

An exciting new initiative at Wenger is the launch of Nutrify LLC. Created to better bring innovative ingredient products to the marketplace, this new company will allow The Wenger Group to offer feed ingredient sales and exclusive distribution of feed products to nutritionists and feed manufacturers.
Nutrify will provide custom premixes and concentrates directly to feed mills, will distribute feed ingredients throughout the Northeast, and will develop and distribute innovative new products for all animal segments, including those not served by Wenger Feeds. Nutrify’s team will be housed at the Wenger Feeds corporate office at 101 West Harrisburg Avenue in Rheems, Pennsylvania, and will continue to maintain its warehouse in Rapho Township. Nutrify will also continue to purchase all ingredients for Wenger Feeds.

FSMA final rule: What U.S. feed mills need to know

The long-awaited final rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) “Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls for Food for Animals” went on display on September 10 – and with it the industry trade groups applaud the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) efforts to meet the needs of the U.S. livestock feed industry.
"We appreciate FDA's consideration of our recommendations to its proposed requirements, and for the open and collaborative process the agency used to solicit input from a wide range of stakeholders," NGFA's vice president of feed services David Fairfield stated in a news release. "Sufficient compliance timelines and important regulatory distinctions were included in the final rule."
For example, the FDA included distinctions between human food and animal food in the final rule – sparing the animal feed industry unnecessary regulatory obligations.
In a press conference held late last week, American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) senior vice president of legislative and regulatory affairs, Richard Sellers, discussed the portions of the rule he feels are the most critical to U.S. feed manufacturers.

Compliance phase-in

Originally, the FDA recommended an overarching one-, two- and three-year phase-in period for all aspects of the rule based on the size of the firm. In the end, it honored AFIA's request for a 1-2-3 year policy for CGMPs and a 2-3-4 year policy for implementation of hazard analysis and preventive controls.
Meaning, “regular-sized” firms (i.e. large companies) will have one year to comply with CGMPs and two years to comply with any hazard analysis and preventive controls they would need to create; small business, two years to comply with CGMPs, three years preventive controls; and very small firms, three years and four years to comply, respectively.
According to Sellers, 80 to 90 percent of 19,000 animal feed facilities will fall under the small business (less than 500 employees) category and will be allowed two years to comply with the CGMP rules and three years to implement hazard analysis and preventive controls.
“Probably one of the greatest victories we can claim is the phase-in of compliance,” notes Sellers. “Those phase-in dates will lower the costs significantly and allow companies to better adapt to the new provision.”

FSMA’s cost to the feed industry

The FDA estimates the annual cost of FSMA implementation will run between $135-170 million over the next 10 years. However, AFIA feels the cost will actually be considerably higher, but hesitates to offer a dollar amount.
For example, the FDA estimates the cost of creating a hazard control program to sit around $17,000 per facility. In reality, for a large company to properly implement the program, it will need to hire a full-time “qualified individual” to oversee and adjust its hazard analysis and related activities – adding a salary ranging from $60,000-$80,000 to a company’s payroll.
When reviewing earlier versions of the rule with the FDA, AFIA sought ways to reduce costs for feed manufacturers through clarification exercises. Specific changes in the final rule that will produce cost savings:

1. Livestock feed operations are not required to use preventive controls (the costly side of the rule) if they can control their hazards through by CGMPs.
2. New Supply Chain Program will replace the Foreign Supplier Verfication Program (FSVP). For example, if the ingredient supplier can provide documents proving vertified preventive controls and hazard analysis procedures have been taken, the feed mill will not need to duplicate the efforts.

“We want to applaud the agency for the flexibility with which the final rule has given to the industry,” Sellers says. “That’s important because the less rigid the rule is, the less costly it’s going to be.”

Other significant changes

FDA has clarified its definition of “significant hazard” by breaking it in to two categories: a hazard versus a hazard requiring a preventive control. The “hazard requiring a preventive control” verbiage pertains primarily to pet food manufacturing and ingredient facilities that need to control pathogens due to the Salmonella-negative standard.
Sellers also notes the recordkeeping exemption, which will spare feed manufacturers the costly administrative burden posed by the Part 11 electronic records and signatures requirement.

AFIA aids in FSMA implementation

FSMA requires all registered feed mills create a facility hazard analysis plan. Given the complexity of such a plan, AFIA has partnered with the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine to create a hazard analysis template for feed mills over the coming months. Sellers notes that facilities that will use this program will need to tailor it to their facility and have it authorized by a qualified individual.
The final rule will legally go into effect November 17, 2015.
In the coming months, AFIA will roll out a series of FSMA webinars and meeting. Visit www.AFIA.org for more information.

Premium Porc Group opens new feed mill in Romania

Premium Porc Group, a subsidiary of DCH International in Romania, has opened its new feed mill in Sibioara, Romania.
The feed mill is part of a larger project of Premium Porc Group of modernization and expansion of the farms operated in Constanta district, part of Degaro company. The project took two years to complete and consisted of increasing production capacity of the farms Fantanele and Sibioara and building a new feed mill. Total investment amount for all the steps of the project was approximately EUR23 million (US$26.4 million).
The new feed mill in Sibioara, has four silos of 4,000 tons each and will produce approximately 70,000 tons of feed per year.
“With the completion of this project we feel that we have developed a durable connection between Premium Porc Group and the partners involved,” said Lars V. Drescher, CEO of DCH International. “We trust that in the future everyone will benefit from this relationship.”
 “We have an ambitious strategy to continue the company’s development and production to double Premium Porc Group by 2019,” he said.

Wayne Farms breaks ground on new feed mill in Alabama

Wayne Farms has broken ground on a new feed mill located near Ozark, Alabama. The completion date for construction of the new feed mill has been tentatively set for the beginning of 2017.
The Dale County feed mill is designed to handle Wayne Farms’ expanding business needs, in light of its 42,000 square-foot Wayne Farms’ fresh processing facility’s expansion in Dothan, Alabama. The projected output for the feed mill, when fully operational, shall be approximately 25,000 tons per week.
“We look forward to expanding our business in Alabama,” said Elton Maddox, president and CEO of Wayne Farms.  “A robust local workforce, strong support from the community leaders and businesses in the area, and the opportunity to more efficiently provide feed for our company, makes the decision to invest here an easy one.”
The new facility will employ approximately 88 workers to the local area that include manufacturing, feed hauling and administrative positions with an annual payroll estimated at $3.1 million. In total, the new feed mill and the Dothan fresh processing facility expansion will be adding approximately 588 jobs to the southern Alabama area.
Tom Kirk, chairman of the Ozark Dale-County Economic Development Corporation said: "We are so pleased to have the Wayne Farms Poultry feed production operation join us as new neighbors here in Dale County. This announcement is the result of many months of hard work on the part of Jay Moss, Wayne Farms manager of Fresh Strategy and Analysis, Mark Blankenship, Dale County Commission chairman, Stephanie Blankenship, Ozark Dale County Economic Development Corporation, and representatives from the Alabama Department of Commerce, and AIDT. We are not only very pleased by the initial capital investment and job creations this new facility brings to Dale County, but also the positive collateral impact it will have on the poultry production industry here in our region."
Blankenship commented: “We are excited about the location in Dale County as the home for the new Wayne Farms’ Ozark Mill. Dale County Officials and the Ozark-Dale County Economic Development Corporation have moved quickly to meet all of the needs of Wayne Farms and have demonstrated that Dale County is open for business.”

Cargill pork feed mill celebrates 35 years of safety

Cargill’s pork feed mill in London, Arkansas, is celebrating 35 years without a lost time accident, spanning the facility’s existence and the first to reach the milestone in the Arkansas Department of Labor’s records kept since 1976.
“The London facility began its feed mill operations in 1980, and there has not been a lost time accident since then,” said Pat Pollack, Cargill Pork environment, health and safety (EHS) manager based in Russellville. “There aren’t many businesses in our industry that can make that claim. This accomplishment is not just a milestone for our facility, but a testament to Cargill’s devotion to the safety of its employees. We follow strict guidelines companywide, and firmly believe in the value of providing safety training and resources to all of our employees.”
“The landscape of the world around us was much different when we opened our doors. As the world continues to evolve, so do our safety practices,” stated Bud Akers, Cargill Pork's London feed mill manager. “We want to make sure that we continue to take the steps to not only minimize risks for our employees, but also for the contractors that come to our facility and the community around us. This commitment has allowed us to achieve more than 12,700 days without a lost time accident.”
The facility makes and delivers hog feed for nearly 100 contracted farms in the region, as well as the company-owned Sandy River sow farm, and processes more than 76,000 tons, or 152 million pounds, of feed annually. Jobs include grinding, mixing and pelleting feed, as well as lifting and handling several tons of feed daily and delivering the loads to farms. These tasks often require the use of heavy-duty equipment. The safety program is employee-led and supported by management. Employees accept the responsibility of recognizing safety hazards committed by each other, or by outside contractors, and preventing incidents from occurring. Monthly meetings help address critical tasks and provide time for safety demonstrations.
“We’re in a business with a high demand for physically-intensive labor. We are dedicated to doing what we can to ensure that our employees remain happy and healthy during and after their time at Cargill,” explained Akers. “Our safety program helps employees feel empowered. They know that if they address a safety issue with co-workers, they have the support of management to do so. We understand that with these jobs, your life can change in a matter of seconds. It’s important to emphasize proper use of equipment and safety practices.”

'Most modern feed mill in the world' in operation in Sweden

Details of “the most modern feed mill of its kind” were presented at trade show Victam this month.
Commissioned by Sweden’s Kalmar Lantman Cooperative and built by Van Aarsen, the the EUR50 million (US$56.3 million) mill, in the southern Swedish port of Kalmar, has the capacity to produce 100 tons of feed per hour on five dedicated lines.
Among reasons for the company to commission the new feed mill was growing demand for poultry feed. It already had two mills on the site and initially considered upgrading and modernizing them. However, it concluded that, even if modernized, the two mills would always be “old” and so decided to make an additional investment and start again from scratch.
In 2009, Kalmar Lantman first sought proposals to replace its two mills, built in 1960 and 1981. The cooperative signed a deal with Van Aarsen in February 2012 and work began in April that year, with the shell of the new mill completed by May 2013. Construction took 25 months from start to finish and, aftera run-in period, the site become fully operational last year.
The feed mill has dedicated lines for poultry, pork and cattle feed, with the built areas covering 3,000 square meters and the total site extending to 18,000 square meters.
Lower running costs
Among requirements for the new mill was that it offer significant reductions in production costs, maximize production automation, and optimize hygiene and safety levels.
Van Aarsen says its smart engineering techniques have resulted in the mill offering 30 percent savings in on-site space through the use of state-of-the-art machines capable of producing a lower cost per ton of feed.
The mill’s whole production process is automated and products can be tracked at all stages of the production process, from raw materials intake to grinding, dosing, mixing, conditioning, pelleting, cooling, crumbing and sieving, coating, post-pellet liquid addition and the final end product, all of which can be remotely controlled by Van Aarsen’s automation specialists.
Built-in additional capacity
The mill runs 24 hours a day, five days a week, but can be operated over weekends should the need arise. Similarly, it has a sixth line that can be brought online as needed. The mill needs only two operators during the day and one at night to track the state of the production process. Operators can make any adjustments on the spot, simply by using a tablet. Remote control, and therefore security, is offered by Van Aarsen’s automation specialists.
All silos, bins and mixers are equipped with weighing facilities. This means raw materials or finished products can be seen anywhere in the production process, allowing stock levels to be monitored. Automatic sampling of finished product is possible in combination with the full automatic sample packing system.
The building is divided into a “dirty” section, for raw materials, and a “clean” section, for finished items. Conditioning times are extended in the mill to ensure hygienization and the in-feed destruction of Salmonella. Incoming air is purified as much as possible to prevent external impurities from entering the system.
Energy efficiency has also been a pivotal feature of the whole project, Van Aarsen says. The plant has been designed to make optimum use of gravity and also operates on high-efficiency motors to enable energy recovery from the warm water cooling to the accompanying frequency controllers. Heated liquid storage tanks are located in insulated areas in three different temperature zones to keep temperatures at constant levels.

HAMLET PROTEIN announces next expansion of its U.S. factory

Following the successful completion of its latest expansion in October 2014, soy protein manufacturer HAMLET PROTEIN announces the next expansion of its U.S. facility in Findlay, OH, due to be commissioned during Q1, 2016.
Since its first line in the U.S. was commissioned in early 2012, HAMLET PROTEIN has seen a major increase in its North American sales: “We are proud of how our products have been received in a demanding market like North America, and this increasingly competitive market is today one of our fastest growing ones,” says Soren Munch, CEO of HAMLET PROTEIN. “We certainly expect to continue this positive development, also thanks to our new and targeted soy protein products like HP 800 Booster for porcine plasma substitution in piglet diets and HP AviStart for broiler starter diets.”
The company has seen an uptick in demand for its products as the global livestock industry requires more efficient and sustainable protein solutions that do not compromise feed safety. And the U.S. facility is also well positioned to serve overseas markets in e.g. Asia, where livestock production is growing rapidly: “The unique location in the Midwest with close proximity to raw material, strong know how and technology has also proven an excellent driver for our further growth in our overseas markets,” adds Soren Munch.

Nuscience Group opens new plant in China

The Nuscience Group officially opened its new plant in Tianjin, China, on May 26.
The new plant – with a capacity of 10,000 metric tons per month – replaces the old plant Nuscience acquired in 2000 in Central Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA). Representing an investment of close to CNY100 million (US$16 million), the new Tianjin plant has the latest state-of-the-art technology and equipment.
The Nuscience Group started the construction of the new plant in West TEDA in May 2014. With the new plant, production capacity has been increased and new production techniques have been added in order to answer to the growing market demand in China. These production facilities are unique among its kind, as they can produce all specialties in one factory (such as young animal nutrition), next to premixes and concentrates. Local and internal financing were used for the construction, of which an important part were own resources.
The plant was opened by the Group and Chinese management in a ceremony that took place in the presence of the Belgian Ambassador and local decision-makers.
“With this investment, Nuscience clearly states that it is ready for further strong growth in China,” says Patrick Keereman, CEO of Nuscience Group. “China is one of the most important markets for the Nuscience Group and the plant will be the second largest plant in our group.”
The LUSAI brand, under which Nuscience operates in China, is a well-known trademark as it stands for proven performance, highest quality feed products and safe animal nutrition, delivering total solutions to our valued industrial customers. In addition to the plant in Tianjin, the group also has a second operation in Suzhou and a trading company in Shanghai.
The Nuscience Group is rapidly expanding and marking its international presence. This also shows by its recent acquisition of the Brazilian Nutrifarma, a leading producer of premixes, concentrates, specialty feeds, additives and services. Altogether, Nuscience has production locations in Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Ukraine, Hungary, China, Serbia and Brazil.

Mar-Jac gets tax abatements to build feed mill

Mar-Jac Poultry LLC has been offered tax abatements from the Franklin County (Alabama) Commission as the company seeks to construct a feed mill in the community of Spruce Pine. The commission voted on the abatements during its March 16 meeting.
Franklin County Development Authority Executive Director Mitch Mays addressed the commission to formally request the abatements for Mar-Jac Poultry. Mays said the abatements include a sales and use tax abatement for the purchase of materials to go toward the construction of the mill, and a 10-year property tax abatement, with the company still paying the education tax portion of property and sales taxes, the Times Daily reported.
Mays told the commission the construction project would involve a capital investment of around $25 million.
“This $25 million they will be investing in this project is part of a much larger capital investment the company will make in the state of Alabama,” Mays said.
“This is a great opportunity for Franklin County,” Roger Bedford, county attorney, added, “for jobs and for what this company will be investing in our area.”
Mays said a formal announcement from the company and more details about the project and the community impact would be coming at a later time.
Mar-Jac Holdings is the parent company to Mar-Jac Poultry LLC, which includes the company’s Alabama and Mississippi operations, and Mar-Jac Poultry Inc., which includes the company’s Georgia operations. The 17^th largest broiler company in the United States, according to the WATT Global Media Top Companies Database, Mar-Jac Holdings processes 225.16 million chickens annually.

Lincoln Supply feed mill to become largest producer in Midwest

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  Lincoln Supply's new feed mill is set to become the largest in the Midwest.

  From WATTAgNet:
  Lincoln Supply plans to open a feed mill that will become the largest producer of feed in the Midwest. The facility in Ellsworth, Iowa, is set to become fully operational in January and will dispense 120 truckloads of feed per day.
  The facility includes a storage area for about 1,000 tons of finished feed for turkeys and pigs, and additional storage for 2,000 tons of feed ingredients. The new mill will pellet almost 1 million tons of feed annually.
  According to the builder of the facility, the new feed mill features 120-ton-per-hour ingredient receiving; 60-ton-per-hour grinding system through three rollermills in a separate grinder room; 14 ingredient bins with 962 tons of storage; a 4-ton batching and mixing system, including one 24-bin micro system; metered liquids to the mixer. The builder says the feed mill has a total finished feed capacity of approximately 420 tons.
  Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, who attended the facility’s open house, said the plant will use Iowa corn and soybeans to feed hogs and turkeys in Iowa and around the world.
  “The efficiencies that were built into this plant, including using the pellets to feed animals which adds efficiency as well, makes it more efficient for livestock operations to be able to get what they want,” Northey said.

Ralco to expand capacity at Minnesota feed mill

In an effort to centralize its facilities, Ralco is planning to make a significant capital investment into its feed mill capacities in Marshall, Minnesota.
The investment in Ralco’s animal nutrition business will provide expanded production capacity, precision mixing capabilities and enhanced packaging equipment. The planned expansion will be a significant upgrade of Ralco’s nutrition manufacturing facilities, which were originally constructed in 1974.
Ralco’s rapid growth during the past decade has required it to utilize several manufacturing and distribution facilities in Marshall to keep up with demand for its products. However, construction of a new 30,000-foot distribution center at the Lake Road Industrial Park and the prospective feed mill expansion will allow the company to centralize operations for greater efficiency.
The upgrades will also allow Ralco to vacate a current manufacturing facility located near 8th Street. Partial ownership of the facility will transfer to the City of Marshall by June 1. Ralco will continue some of its manufacturing at the location, as complete ownership of the facility will be assumed by the city during the next two years.
Dennis Conlon, vice president of operations for Ralco, said upgrading the manufacturing plant and future construction in the Lake Road Industrial Park would provide a coordinated approach to greater expansion in Marshall.
“Ralco has grown very rapidly, which has caused us to outgrow some of our current facilities. The investment we are planning in our manufacturing capacity and the distribution center we have built at Lake Road allows us to consolidate to more central campuses, and utilize state-of-the-art mixing and packaging technologies.” Conlon said. “This will promote efficiency and provide us with more opportunity to grow.”

Cargill turkey feed mill achieves 30-year safety record

The Cargill Turkey and Cooked Meats (CTCM) feed mill in Springdale, Arkansas, which furnishes feed for Cargill’s turkey business in the region has operated 30 consecutive years, five days a week, 20 hours a day, without any employee lost-time injuries. This 30-year achievement will be celebrated with a ceremonial awards luncheon on June 20 at the Springdale feed mill location. 
Representatives from the CTCM Springdale feed mill and CTCM turkey hatchery in Gentry, Arkansas will be honored for their years of dedication to employee and workplace safety.
“Cargill was built on a firm foundation of respect, integrity and commitment to health and safety,” said Shane Acosta, general manager for Cargill’s turkey operations in Northwest Arkansas. “Employee and workplace safety is one of our top priorities and the employees of the Springdale mill should take great pride in this tremendous achievement they have worked so hard to earn. We are also honoring a similar 22-year accomplishment by our hatchery team at Gentry, Arkansas.”
For the nearly 40 Cargill employees who work at the feed mill, each week is filled with activity focused on producing feed for tens-of-thousands of Cargill turkeys. An average week for the feed mill consists of 100 hours of operation, with employees working in 10 hour shifts, two shifts daily, five days a week. In these 100 hours, Cargill employees produce, load and ship approximately 5.6 million pounds of feed, which is delivered to Cargill’s contract turkey farmers throughout the region.
Each week, the mill receives about 110 truckloads of ingredients and ships an average of 112 truckloads of finished feed. The process of loading and unloading these feed ingredients and the finished product is labor-intensive. It involves handling rail cars and trucks, as well as filling and drawing from large grain silos.
Ricky Belk, director of the Arkansas Department of Labor, will make remarks at the recognition ceremony, commending and congratulating Cargill for the 30-year achievement by the feed mill, as well as the 22-year milestone for no lost-time injuries that was achieved in 2014 by the company’s turkey hatchery at Gentry.
“The Arkansas Department of Labor has been recognizing employers for safe work time for over 30 years,” said Belk. “For a company to have a record of safety that spans nearly that entire time is an incredible achievement. It is an honor to be invited to celebrate this important milestone with the employees of Cargill and I am looking forward to congratulating them for their dedication to safety in our state.”

Seminar focuses on feed mill maintenance process

At the recent 2014 Feed Mill Management Seminar in Nashville, Tenn., Phil Sisler, feed mill manager with Perdue Farms, discussed the evolution of the maintenance process throughout the years, from reactive maintenance to integrated maintenance, and implored managers to find out where their mill facilities may fall in that process. On one end of the spectrum, he explained, is a complete lack of a PM program and on the other end is predictive maintenance, which is ideal.
"There is no best time for a feed mill machinery breakdown to occur. But, if you could predict when a failure is going to occur, what would you do?" Sisler asked during his presentation, The Importance of a PM Program, at the seminar sponsored by U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.
Garrett Rea, program manager with Tennessee OSHA Consultative Services provided a Safety/OSHA Update. He noted the 10 commonly found hazards in feed mills, which included combustible materials, falls and electrical hazards. He also reminded feed mill managers to ensure that temporary contractors and internal staff know and are following the same rules.
Dr. Mike Blair, senior director of nutritional services with Pilgrim's, provided an overview of the value of alternative ingredients in his presentation, "Are Alternative Feed Ingredients Really Saving You Money?"  Blair stated that an alternative feed ingredient is any ingredient that replaces corn, soybean meal or fat in a broiler diet, with criteria being based on each operation. Since alternative ingredients also fall under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), Blair urged managers to audit carefully and know where their ingredient supply is coming from. His closing remark stressed the importance for purchasing, nutrition, feed mill and live production all working together to determine the value of alternative ingredients.

Bell Aquaculture to open feed mill in Indiana

Bell Aquaculture plans to open a feed mill to supply feed for the local and national aquaculture industry. The new mill, located at Bell Farms in Albany, Indiana, will be the first of its kind to locally produce feed to service the aquaculture industry on a mass scale using local Indiana ingredients.
Scott Nelson of Integral Fish Foods, recently purchased by Bell, will be the head of operations for the mill. He will provide Bell with the expertise to produce feeds specific to fish species and key periods in the life cycle of the fish.
The mill is expected to begin production in April with a production capacity of 2.2 million pounds per month, sourcing 50-60% of ingredients locally.
"Our mill will benefit the county and the state by providing jobs and increasing demand for locally produced soybeans and grains, while also providing feed to support the growing local aquaculture industry, " said Norman McCowan, president & CEO of Bell Aquaculture.
The mill is expected to generate up to 25 new jobs over the next 36 months, while reducing the need for local aquaculture industry to source feed from remote locations, thereby completing a cycle of sustainable aquaculture for local supply and demand.
When asked how the mill would affect local soybean farmers, ISA President Dave Lowe said: "The opportunity for aquaculture is immense. We have needed this mill in Indiana to have the ability to source feed locally for quite some time. There are thousands of tons of ingredients for feed within a very short distance of Bell. It is time that the general population, counties and state benefit from the tax base and revenue stream that this mill will provide."

USPOULTRY Feed Mill Management Seminar to focus on mill efficiencies, technology

The 2014 USPOULTRY Feed Mill Management Seminar will provide up-to-date information on ways to keep mills running efficiently and effectively. The program will address topics, such as a Safety/OSHA Update, Are Alternate Feed Ingredients Really Saving You Money?, The Importance of a PM Program, and A Virtual Tour of a State-of-the-Art Mill. Sponsored by the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, the seminar will be held March 19-20, at the Doubletree Hotel in Nashville, Tenn.
"Feed manufacturing is one of the most important areas of poultry and egg production and processing. The Feed Mill Management Seminar is a valuable source for staying current on the latest industry technology and techniques," said program committee chairman Donny Maddox, Tyson Foods.
The seminar was developed by an industry committee of experienced and knowledgeable feed mill managers and university faculty. In addition to the topics above, the program will address:  Feed Variables and Controlled Nutrients - Moisture and Steam; A Feed Mill Management Open Forum; Retrofitting Your Mill; A Regulatory Update: NESHAP/FSMA, What Will An Inspector Look For?, Practical Application Case Studies; and Motivating Your Employees for Success.

Animal feed plant explosion kills two, injures 10 in Omaha, Neb.

Reuters
An explosion at a feed plant owned by International Nutrition is now under investigation. 
An explosion at animal feed plant in Omaha, Neb., has killed two people and injured at least 10 others, according to reports. The explosion and fire flattened part of the plant owned by International Nutrition, while about 38 employees were working in the mid-morning on January 20.
All employees at the plant have been accounted for, but authorities are unsure of whether any visitors were in the plant at the time, according to interim fire chief, Bernard Kanger. About 50 firefighters battled the blaze and rescued five people from the rubble, Kanger said.
The second and third floors of the plant collapsed on top of the first floor when key structural supports failed. Search-and-rescue experts were brought in to stabilize the building.
"There was this real loud crackling sound and the lights went off," forklift operator Kendrick Houston said in a report. "I saw a spark and there was a big ball of flame coming from the southwest corner of the building."
Houston said he left the building and tried to go back in to find co-workers, but heat and smoke forced him to turn back.
The explosion is under investigation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will determine the cause. 

Cobb-Vantress to open Kentucky feed mill

Cobb-Vantress Inc. is constructing a new feed mill in Albany in south central Kentucky, to supply its expanding operations in both Kentucky and Tennessee.
The mill, projected to cost US$15 million, is the latest investment in a region where Cobb has invested more than $36 million over the past three years including a new hatchery at Lafayette, Tenn., and a new pedigree research and development complex at Deer Lodge, Tenn. Its location is close to a major area of corn production from where Cobb plans to source most of its grain needs.
"We are excited to continue our investment in the state of Kentucky and we look forward to providing job opportunities to the people in this area," said Randy Vardeman, vice president of production for Cobb. "The design of the new feed mill will give Cobb complete control over feed formulation and quality. In the end, it's about providing a quality feed to our growers and company farms."
The investment in Kentucky is one of many Cobb is making globally, according to the company. Cobb is adding on to a research farm at Herveld in the Netherlands, making farm expansions in Brazil and building a new grandparent farm and hatchery in China.
One feature of the new feed mill will be a state-of-the-art pathogen control system affecting the equipment and processes. Use of specialized equipment, designated clean areas controlled by airflow and other quality measures will help ensure Salmonella-free feed.
Construction began in November 2013 and is scheduled for completion in spring of 2014. The mill will employ an estimated 16 people including feed delivery drivers.

AFIA, Kansas State offer advanced pelleting course

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the International Grains Program of the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University have partnered to offer a course on advanced pelleting.
The three-day educational course will be held at the IGP conference center in Manhattan, Kan., and at the new KSU O.H. Kruse Feed Mill October 7-9, 2013.
The course will focus on the concepts needed to ensure an optimal and efficient pelleting system in a feed manufacturing business, according to the hosting groups. The lectures will cover all aspects of pelleting needed for participants to gain an in-depth understanding of the process. Among the topics that will be covered are the importance of ingredients in the pelleting process, what affects pelleting operations, steam conditioning, pellet cooling and crumbling, maintenance, and evaluating pelleting production costs.
Practical sessions will take place at the KSU O.H. Kruse Feed Mill in order for participants to fully understand all the issues related to running a successful pelleting operation in their feed mills. Also, all key aspects in the pelleting system will be demonstrated, including running a steam conditioning system, pellet cooling and crumbling, and pellet quality assessment.
Speakers for the course will include faculty of KSU's Feed Technology group, including Carlos Campabadal, Cassandra Jones and Charles Stark. Also, it will include professor emeritus of the Department of Grain Science and Industry Keith Behnke and Fred Fairchild. In addition, industry speakers will help to cover all aspects of pelleting topics.
Registration information can be found at www.afia.org. The registration fee is $900 for AFIA members and $1,000 for non-AFIA members, and covers course material, protective gear during practical sessions, lunches and breaks during the course, transportation between the hotel and IGP conference center, and a graduation lunch. This high-demand, educational course often sells out quickly, so early registration is suggested.

InVivo Animal Nutrition inaugurates Indonesia feed mill

France-based InVivo Animal Nutrition & Health, a global producer of compound feed, premixes and feed additives, as well as a provider of lab analysis services, inaugurated its newest feed mill in Indonesia on June 20.
The $15-million, 125,000-metric-ton feed mill is the group's fifth to open in the first half of 2013, according to the company, joining two compound feed plants in Brazil, one pet food plant in Mexico and one compound feed plant in Vietnam. With the new compound feed plant in Indonesia InVivo said it hopes to continue to consolidate its international market positions in Latin America and Asia.
The livestock feed plant is fitted with a grinding line, mixing line and pelletizing line from Stolz, able to produce crumbles and pellets for the growing livestock of goats and sheep in Indonesia. The fish feed plant is fitted with grinding, mixing and coating equipment from Stolz.