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TECH T ▶▶▶ALK


Feed mill evaluations = results! W


BY WAYNE COOPER, FEED MILL AND MACHINERY EXPERT


While introducing AFT to the American feed mill mar- ket, I have also done a series of feed mill evaluations in the last twelve months. In most cases, the evaluation was requested to move production higher. To give you


the background, 6 full feed mill evaluations were done in 2019 and several more mills were visited without specific recommendations be- ing made. The common issues in the industry are: Micro systems: These are the number one cause for slow production in the mill. Too small, too slow, too much labor. We have outgrown them. Not that long ago, a ration would take 3 to 4 pounds of lysine per ton. Now we are putting in 14 lbs plus 4 other amino acids. Also, we are now using 5 or 6 ABF micro ingredients per batch. The micro system cannot dose it that fast. Solutions are varied but the simple one is to add a micro system. Too easy? Split the current 20 bin system to two different scales. Allowing each to work simultaneously. Cut the time in half while dosing the same amount of material. Ingredient dosing: When the corn takes over two minutes to dose an average batch and there are still three more ingredients for the major scale, it is time to upgrade. Simply speeding up the auger works occa- sionally but if you want to really fix the issue, pull from 2 corn bins at the same time. Or replace old equipment with a bigger auger or gate. But do something! This goes for all other major ingredients. Software programming: There are typically multiple points in your software system that somebody has set incorrectly. Maybe it did not matter when the system was installed or the last person in the system just did not know the correct setting. But it is slowing your production. Assign the knowledgeable person to do the detective work on the sys- tem to find these spots. You know where to look for them when you watch the system operate and the dry mix time was set for 3 minutes! Loadouts: Even the new mills are struggling with this. Want to get out of running trucks all night long? Load your semi in less than 7 minutes instead of 20. Do the math to see how many less trucks it takes to haul feed for the year. There are too many solutions to cover here because it varies with every mill. But please keep in mind that simpler is sometimes better. Gravity is a wonderful tool. Pelleters: When you look at your die replacement bill for the year and cringe, walk right out and see if that pelleter is actually full. Running that pelleter at 75% full creates metal on metal contact between the die and rollers. You will eat a die every other month. At my previous work, we improved from 3 and sometimes four dies per ma- chine per year to 1 die for 11 months. Really helps the budget and you actually get better quality pellets.


26 ▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 1, 2020


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