Michael Foods Inc. (MFI) made a significant leap in technology in March 2024 with the opening of a state-of-the-art feed mill, designed to produce up to 100 tons per hour of mash poultry feed, in Gaylord, Minnesota.
The century-old egg supplier, based in Hopkins, Minnesota, is the nation’s largest processor of value-added eggs, and was a acquired by Post Holdings Inc. in 2014. It produces and processes eggs into liquid egg, dried egg, hard cooked, consumer pre-packed and bulk products.
Michael Foods’ farmers raise 9.7 million egg-laying hens annually, according to WATTPoultry.com’s Top Poultry Companies 2024 list, making animal nutrition and feed efficiency a driving factor in the business’ performance and output.
“We recognize that feed is a big part of overall production, as well as animal welfare, so it all ties together,” said Jeff Erickson, director and veterinarian, MFI. “As poultry genetics have improved and productivity has increased, we’ve learned more and more how to best meet hens’ needs, both nutritionally and environmentally.”
MFI’s poultry nutrition strategy starts with using quality feed to optimize hen health with zero use of hormones. Its staff veterinarians and poultry nutritionists design unique diets for their hens by custom tailoring for the age-specific needs of each flock.
The new feed mill plays a vital role in meeting those needs, producing 1,600 tons per week to serve three MFI farm sites. It replaced two recently decommissioned MFI feed mills in Le Sueur, Minnesota, as well as the original feed mill at the expansive MFI complex in Gaylord, consisting of layer barns, office buildings and a feed operations hub, along with a nearby processing plant.
Investments in mill automation, state-of-the-art mixers and grinders, and high-capacity conveying and material handling equipment increased feed output by up to 40 to 50 tons per hour compared with the two mills it replaced. Additionally, key features were incorporated to address worker safety, dust control, explosion prevention and biosecurity.
As MFI steps into a digital era, the new Gaylord mill not only reflects advancement in the feed industry, but also sets the stage for its future growth and efficiency.
The journey from old to new
The original feed mills in Gaylord and Le Sueur served MFI well for decades. When the Gaylord mill was first built in the 1980s, it was cutting-edge — equipped with the best technology at the time. However, as the poultry industry evolved, so did the demands for higher production and greater efficiency.
“Chickens today produce around 80 more eggs than they used to in their lifetime,” Erickson said. “As we look forward, improvements to genetics will only continue and lead to production growth.”
The need for more feed, plus to consolidate two mills’ output into one main feed mill, drove the decision to expand the footprint and construct a new mill at the Gaylord site. The project bid was awarded to EDM LLC, an engineering, design, construction and millwright firm based in Buffalo, Minnesota. Doug Eiden, president of EDM, led the effort to meet Michael Foods’ quality standards and requirements for a safe, high-output feed mill intended to perform for decades to come.
The design phase began in October 2022 and construction crews broke ground in June 2023. Collaboration between EDM and Michael Foods throughout the following months ensured a successful completion ahead of the scheduled timeline.
“By March 2024, the new mill was manufacturing its first feed batches, and once the facility was on board, the transition out of the old mill took place quickly over the following few weeks,” Eiden said. “Building the new feed mill while keeping their existing one at full capacity — with only minimal production interruptions — resulted in keeping Michael Foods’ feed operations running smoothly.”
Reused resources integrated with new upgrades
To preserve resources and minimize disruptions during construction, MFI repurposed some of the original mill’s infrastructure in the new design. Incorporating the adjacently located grain storage bins allows the new feed mill to draw from existing storage bin without additional conveyors or transfer systems.
While the original mill has ceased milling feed, it wasn’t fully razed or abandoned completely. Its warehouse building serves as a new equipment and parts storage shed, and a larger receiving system was installed to increase whole corn receiving from barely 5,000 bushels per hour to 15,000 bushels per hour. Meanwhile, the new mill increased soft ingredients, such as dried distillers grain with solubles (DDGs) and soybean meal, receiving capacity to 180 tons per hour.
Along with other new mill improvements, like a 100-ton-per-hour mixing leg and a 60-ton-per-hour grinding leg, it is running at 50 to 60 tons per hour of feed output. However, it was designed to provide greater output with potential future expansion, including space to add another roller mill along with additional ingredient and loadout bins. The facility has a roughly 7,000-square-foot warehouse with a push-back racking system that increased bagged ingredient storage capacity from 40 pallets to 140-plus pallet spaces.
This approach allows MFI to continue to adapt to market conditions, increase product purchasing power and flexibility with new and more ingredients, and the potential to feed more hens in the future.
A leap in technology and efficiency
Gannon Grochow, feed mill manager, MFI, witnessed firsthand the transformation from the old to the new. Having worked at both facilities, Grochow said the new mill provides numerous advantages, including significant technological upgrades.
“This is the brains of the operation,” Grochow said about the mill’s control center. The room is equipped with four computer monitors and several cameras that manage the entire operation through the automation sitting at one desk station.
“Everything is controlled with these screens, from shipping and receiving to the grinding and batching processes, even loading out trucks,” Grochow said. “All in a few clicks of a computer mouse.”
In the past, manual processes required feed mill operators to handle every step, from corn and ingredient receiving to adjusting distributors and remembering specific bin configurations. It was a labor-intensive process with the potential for mistakes. Grochow said a misstep could send the wrong ingredient to the wrong bin, or plug the equipment with material, causing delays.
Today, its automation system nearly eliminates such risks. The NexGen batching and automation system by Easy Automation Inc. not only directs operators to the correct bins, but also locks them out of incorrect ones, and features high-bin-level alerts to eliminate overfilling bins.
Facility automation also greatly reduces the complexity of training new employees. As Brady Gaalswyk, co-president of Easy Automation Inc., said: “When someone gets used to doing a manual process, it becomes second nature, but training someone on the nuances of those processes can be difficult. With automation, it’s more self-explanatory. Instead of having to remember steps, the system does it for you.”
The new system offers a high level of integration and data accuracy, with all scale tickets generated by the automated grain receiving kiosk tied directly into MFI’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This ensures real-time data updates and reduces manual entry errors, speeding up the accounting process.
By the time trucks finish dumping, the system has already logged the ticket and updated the inventory, allowing real-time management of supply chains and ingredient ordering.
The mill’s feed operation hub also remotely controls a feed distribution center in Le Sueur. MFI hauls 30-ton loads of finished feed 18 miles east of Gaylord, and operators in the Gaylord control room can change and adjust routes to the destination bins there and to the final delivery at poultry barns.
Enhanced particle size control
MFI’s grinding capabilities were also upgraded with new equipment and automation. To gain better control over particle sizing, they replaced their old mill’s hammer mills with an RMS Roller-Grinder roller mill, capable of processing 28 to 30 tons per hour of corn at 1,200 microns, with unlimited potential for different grinds — a critical factor in poultry feed. The mill is designed for two roller mills, so MFI can add one when needed.
Grochow demonstrated the ease of adjusting grind size with just a few clicks on the RMS Roller-Grinder AccuGap control panel, a stark contrast to the manual adjustments that were previously required.
“Instead of using tools to operate the grinder, it’s all done on a touchpad,” Grochow said. “The program can store up to 16 recipes, and as our nutritionists require different grinds based on bird age, life stage, etc., they might find they need new recipes. Now we can switch a recipe without worrying if someone turned the wrench the wrong amount. It’s all digital and safe, reducing the risk of human error and keeping people away from running equipment.”
Milling overview and enhancements
If the control room is the brains of the operation, the milling room is the muscle. Its 6-ton Scott Equipment Co. dual-ribbon mixers work in tandem to finish a batch in 3 to 5 minutes, depending on formulas and recipes.
The milling room includes 24 overhead bins — 20 ingredient bins and four ground corn bins — with a total capacity of 40,100 cubic feet, and three major scales and three minor scales. All six scales work at once to improve batching efficiency and are capable of weighing up all ingredients in less than 3 minutes for a 6-ton batch.
In the warehouse, the 12-bin micro system and 12 totes ensure higher accuracy for smaller inclusions, enhancing the overall process. The tote bag system can hold 12 super sack totes.
The transition from small containers to larger totes improves worker safety and efficiency, reducing the need to lift 40- to 50-pound bags consistently during the day. Now they place a super sack tote by forklift, and the sacks don’t require replacing for up to a week, in some cases.
Loadout upgrade
The design and construction of the new feed mill features eight feed load-out bins with Cleveland vibrators, and two DSH (Dust Suppression Hoppers) systems by Sioux Steel Co.
Four bins have a 30-ton capacity and four have a 15-ton capacity. This allows MFI greater flexibility when loading delivery trucks. Varying sizes and capacities of the feed demand at chicken barns creates the need to deliver partial feed loads at times.
Erickson said eventually they may consider plans for a conveyance system to deliver feed to the barns located on-site, eliminating the need for trucks on the farm. While exploration of such plans won’t happen soon, MFI expects to continue investing in Gaylord long term as the demand for egg continues to grow.
The new Gaylord feed mill is not just a replacement for the old; it’s a step into the future, ensuring that MFI remains a leader in the industry for years to come. With its new Gaylord feed mill now operational, MFI is well positioned to meet the demands of the future with advanced automation, increased capacity and built-in expansion capabilities to adapt to changing needs.
