Feeds must be milled and mixed to ensure it provides the correct nutritional value to the animals consuming them. Milling and mixing feed in the right proportions are vital in farming and usually pass three (3) distinct processes.
FEED MILLING PROCESSES
Here, we list the processes involved in feed milling:
OBTAINING THE FEED
Whether you have a mill on their farm or choose to outsource the milling, they need to provide corn and other highest-quality grains. What you will input will define the quality of your overall output. You can use professional bin cleaning services for high-quality assurance. They clean bins and silos to a high standard, ensuring that what you bring to the mill is high quality.
GRINDING
Grinding is the method of reducing the size of grains and other infusions. During this time, moisture is extracted through proper aeration, and additives such as antioxidants are blended to reduce spoilage. The grinding process will improve the palatability of meals, digestibility, and density of some feeds.
Different mills are used in grinding, including hammers, rollers, cutters, and attrition. These machines are often used with a sieve to ensure the final particles are of a precise size or smaller.
MIXING
Mixing ensures that the proportion of the ingredients in the final feed is the same as the original formula. Mix to keep the proportions, whether a handful of the feed or several pounds are required to produce enough feed.
Mix to blend the constituents evenly or spread where the number of components is not proportional. When mixing, you must be careful to ensure the particle sizes are small, or they risk segregation when the particles separate from the mixture.
There are horizontal, vertical, revolving drums, turbines, and other types of mixers for mixing.
PELLETING
Pelleting turns dusty and soft feed into a pellet through adhesion, extrusion, and compression. The feed mixture passes through a chamber where a small amount of water is added. The water is vital for lubrication during the pelleting procedure. Water can also push the gelatinization of certain starches, turning them into an adhesive that holds the pellets together. The pellets are compressed, heated, and extruded through holes in a die. The mix is placed on a conveyor and dried to a precise moisture percentage.
The downside of making a pellet is that there is a chance of losing vitamins or the feeds that do not respond very well under the high temperatures the mixture is subjected to during the extrusion procedure.
Milling is not just grinding feeds to make a dusty mix of small feed particles. Milling is all about assuring the uniformity of elements in the mixture. It is also the production of the feed in the state of pallets.
These three methods mostly go together, and pelleting is occasionally optional.
Our Takeaway
Processing is inevitably tedious and technical. VSM provides the necessary installation for new and existing feed mill facilities. Our team of highly trained engineers handles the installation procedure. They provide operational management to make sure that the project is on track and all specifications are observed. We maintain a take-over approach to guarantee that execution has been affirmed.
If you need assistance with your projects on feed mill installations or improvements, please contact us to assist you with your queries. We are a consultancy and construction expert on modern feed mill production facility. For more than 25 years, we provided services for different companies in the Philippines.