Ken Jennison

0000 F Mken Jennison

Nutrition & Feed

Keeping feed mill boilers safe

Feed mill boilers often don’t get the attention they should, which can lead to disastrous results. “When a boiler accident occurs, it is usually not minor,” noted Marc Shockley, feed mill manager for Perdue Farms, speaking at the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association’s 2012 Feed Mill Management Seminar in Nashville, Tenn.

The main boiler at the Perdue Farms feed mill. Regular maintenance and checks have kept it running for years with no problems.

Animal feed ingredient costs a challenge for pig producers

Skyrocketing prices in spray-dried whey together with changing values of bakery and distiller’s grains are creating a real challenge for pig producers, according to Dr. Joel DeRouchey of Kansas State University, speaking at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa. DeRouchey noted that spray-dried whey has seen a “marked increase” in price in recent months, particularly when put in a historical context.

A high quality pellet can potentially return 6 percent to 7 percent in feed efficiency response, according to Dr. Joel DeRouchey. For some producers this may be a worthwhile investment.

SPACE 2012 expected to break records for exhibitors, attendance

Now in its 26th year, SPACE 2012 will take place September 11 through September 14 at the Rennes Exhibition Centre in France. Billed as “The show in touch with livestock industry issues,” organizers are looking to build on the success the show has experienced in previous years.

SPACE organizers expect more than 100,000 livestock industry visitors again this year.

Nutrition & Feed

Kansas State prepares for feed mill construction

The O. H. Kruse Feed Technology Innovation Center at Kansas State will feature latest feed production technology and offer multiple uses.

Just how much is corn going to cost this year, anyway?

After last year’s ride through widely fluctuating corn prices, increased foreign demand for U.S. corn, rising ethanol production and dwindling corn reserves, it should be no surprise that interest in the 2012 crop harvest is high. If you look closely at all the facts and do some educated guessing, you can come up with a price for this year's corn—as long as none of the facts change.

Nutrition & Feed

Getting buy-in from feed mill employees

DeKalb Feeds involves its employees in all aspects of its operation.DeKalb Feeds in Rock Falls, Illinois, had a great 2011—profits are up, quality is high and employee turnover is almost non-existent. In fact, 44 percent of the feed mill’s 50 employees have been there more than 14 years. According to president Kelly Keaschall, DeKalb Feeds doesn’t really have a secret; what it has is a number of initiatives that have made DeKalb Feeds a place where people want to stay, work and create an atmosphere of success.

DeKalb Feeds has experienced a good deal of success with employee buy-in by using a number of different initiatives.

Brazilian feed industry continues growth in second half of 2011

According to data from the Brazilian Feed Industry Association, Sindirações, overall animal feed production in Brazil grew about 4.7 percent in 2011. Fish feed increased the most, at 24.6 percent, followed by beef cattle feed and dairy feed at 8 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively.

When new feed technology is both awe-inspiring and overwhelming

These technologies are quite exciting, allowing for faster processing, higher levels of efficiency and extraordinary capacity for data collection. The ability to do anything more quickly and efficiently is something to be celebrated, and that should be our approach to new feed technologies - even if it does cause a temporary sense of information overload.

The feed industry in 2012: opportunities and choices

Industry economists are expecting to see slightly lower costs for corn this year over 2011.

CME Group executive: we will not cover all MF Global losses

Bryan Durkin, chief operating officer for CME Group, told attendees at a meeting of the National Grain and Feed Association Monday in Chicago that the CME Group will cover a substantial amount of the missing funds from MF Global, but stopped short of saying that all monies lost would be covered by the brokerage.

Within two weeks of the MF Global bankruptcy filing, CME Group offered a $250 million guarantee to the bankruptcy trustee to assist in the distribution of funds to the customers without a loss to the bankruptcy estate. The guarantee was later increased to $550 million.

Nutrition & Feed

Hueber Feed proves that thinking outside the box leads to profits

Brothers Jon and Jan Hueber, together with their father, started Hueber Feed LLC with the purchase of a feed mill in Creston, Illinois, in 1982. They purchased another mill in Shabbona in 1985, and one in Holcomb in 1988. The Creston and Shabbona mills primarily manufactured swine feed, and the Holcomb mill manufactured feed for beef cattle and equine.

Hueber Feed’s mill in Creston, Ill., was built in 2005 and went live in 2006. It was constructed by Tom-Cin Metals in Wisconsin.

What Ag Partners LLC can teach the feed industry

Ag Partners LLC is a success story. More than that, I believe it can teach us something. Perhaps during uncertain times the best thing to do is listen, use common sense, cooperate and have faith in ourselves.

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