Feed manufacturing is a really simple process: purchase raw materials, grind, mix, pellet if necessary and a compound feed is created. Sell the product against a higher price than the combined price of the total ingredients and the business is done. Today however, this process is unthinkable without a high level of automation.

A major task of a producer is to manage the logistics of a large number of commodity flows. Raw materials are delivered in different quantities and batch sizes. A feed mill with an annual output of 100,000 t will realistically have about 500 incoming batches of sizes ranging from 5 to 1,000 t per month. Correct sampling is of utmost importance to obtain the desired quality standard.

Cargill Animal Nutrition has opened a new 144,000-tonne capacity feed manufacturing facility. The mill is divided into two production units that are strictly separated to avoid cross contamination of sensitive feed ingredients.

Feed mills are running with very little down time, so spares and replacement parts must be quickly and easily available. CFE uses the vigour of a rugby player and the precision of a golfer to refurbish dies and rolls and to please their customers.

Pellet quality is a major issue in Europe. With so many different raw materials in the feed recipe feed millers have difficulties and still make 'soft' pellets, often switching to double pelleting to improve quality. However, with longer conditioning of the feed the same results can be obtained, but with lower energy costs.

A premix is an effective and convenient way of ensuring that the formulation transfers from paper to pellet or mash. Integration and modernisation in the Indian poultry industry in recent years means that, although the basic raw materials might be different from other parts of the world, the rules of effective vitamin supply are universal.

At Victam, which was held in Utrecht, the Netherlands in May, DSL Systems was awarded for their controlling device "Hand Held" as the best innovation in information technology. The system was only described briefly in the Victam special, so let's has a closer look this time.

Rice milling is the process of removing the husk and park of the bran in order to produce edible rice from the paddy. This mechanical technique has now been improved by Amandus Kahl to decontaminate cereals from mycotoxins, which usually are found on the outside of the kernel.

Good quality pellets have several benefits: reduced waste, less segregation in the feed, improved palatability and shorter eating periods. Also animal performance and feed efficiency can benefit from pelleting the feed. But it is not always easy to make a good quality pellet.

The most simple and effective way to mix enzymes in feed is in the dry form, but high processing temperatures are detrimental to the effectiveness of these catalysts. The opportunity to continue using a dry application approach is significantly increased by selecting granular product forms that have been specifically designed to withstand higher processing conditions.