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16 Nov 2024

Importance of the physical quality of feed in relation to manufacturing costs.

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The production of feed has experienced a certain calm over the past two decades regarding the quality of the raw materials used, setting aside certain pathologies that are not directly attributable to nutrition.

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On the other hand, the advancements in genetics at the production level have been nothing short of remarkable. We could agree that in the year 2000, nutrition was ahead of genetics, but at this moment, nutrition does not fully meet the productive potential that a laying hen can offer us (reaching 100 weeks of life).

It is evident that this situation has advantages and disadvantages, from the EU regulatory framework to the quality and presentation of the feed for our birds.

From my point of view as a specialist in manufacturing technology, I will try to break down the limitations we face in this time of volatile input prices.

We all know that animal feed factories can be divided into several categories, and these will limit the final product we want to achieve. First, we have single-species factories and multi-species factories; this distinction, although minor, will be the first significant limitation to address.
Next, we will distinguish between pre-grinding and post-grinding factories, where we will examine the advantages and disadvantages of each when aiming to obtain an appropriate final product.
Third, we will examine the type of product obtained with a roller mill and how we can adjust a hammer mill to minimize the impact of “fines” in the mix. And of course, whether we pelletize or present the feed as a mash, we will review all the machinery in our facilities that may pose limitations affecting the productive quality of the animals. Finally, we will look at our energy costs and explore alternatives to minimize their impact.

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Single-species factories

pienso In single-species factories, it will be easier to configure the production line since the animal to be fed always requires the same presentation, and it will only vary depending on whether we present it as mash, crumbs, or pellets. It should be noted that in the case at hand, the presentations will differ if we are in the rearing phase or the laying phase.

It is common to have crumbs for the rearing phase from 0 to 8 weeks, and mash until 16 weeks, with pre-laying in mash and mash throughout the production phase.

Pre-grinding factories and post-grinding factories

As we mentioned earlier, in the types of factories, we have pre-grinding and post-grinding. Here, the first significant limitation appears, which will accompany us until the end of the presentation.

Pre-grinding

The first, pre-grinding, allows us to adjust the granulometry for each product via the sieve diameter and motor speed using a frequency converter, which means we can freely vary the particle size of corn, wheat, barley, and, in some cases, the flours, depending on how they arrive at the factory.

Post-grinding

In contrast to these, in post-grinding factories, all products of a certain size—generally larger than 3mm—must pass through the same sieve of the mill. Those smaller than 3mm will be removed by the sieve located above the mill and will be collected in the hopper above—the mixer.

Up to this point, we have been discussing the configuration of hammer mills, which inherently produce more fines than a roller mill. If our goal is to produce a good mash and we have a single-species factory, it would be best to have a roller mill, as it will systematically reduce fines, and additionally, the consumption per ton produced is much lower compared to a hammer mill.

At this point, I would like to emphasize issues that affect all factories in common, which is the quality of what enters through the intake and what we can do to improve the quality of these ingredients.

¡Attention, the word “Quality” is mentioned!! How do we define it?

A company, in its simplest terms, consists of finding a customer, determining what they need to thrive, and organizing itself to provide exactly that.

The processes required to achieve this goal consist of measurable requirements fulfilled by both people and machines.

El trabajo de la dirección es seleccionar estos requerimientos, disponer que cada uno entienda su papel personal en cumplirlos, y entonces hacer que los requerimientos se cumplan de entrada.

The role of management is to select these requirements, ensure that everyone understands their personal role in fulfilling them, and then make sure the requirements are met from the start.

As more is learned, we continuously improve the requirements, but we must always ensure they are met the first time. That is quality.

Once we know the established requirements, we can take action. How?

Do we have a cleaning process at the intake to separate impurities, dust, and broken grains?
Do we have acid injection equipment to preserve the integrity of the products against mold, insects, and other attacks that raw materials might face?

In the post-grinding factory, what does technology offer to help us?

This is where the Mill Variator comes into play, which allows us to adjust the rpm of the mill and the sieve hole to achieve the minimum required fines without exceeding a high percentage of coarse particles.

It’s important to note that all the feed will pass through here, and it’s equally harmful to have:

> 15% of particles smaller than 1mm
> 10% of particles larger than 3.5mm
The rest should be between >1mm and >2mm.

These parameters apply for a mash presentation. If we need to granulate, the parameters will be:

>1mm up to 10%
>0.5mm up to 45%
>0.3mm up to 25%
<0.3mm with a minimum of 20% (Bühler requirements).

From these requirements, we must adapt our facilities to get as close as possible to the objective and keep in mind that our customer is the animal, not the farmer!

With this outlook, we move on to the complicated situation we are currently facing, such as the prices of raw materials, as well as the exorbitant energy prices needed to produce our product.

Considering that our customers are hens, defined as granivorous birds, I believe it’s time to evaluate how we will feed them, based on flour as the food presentation and taking into account genetic advancements.

There is plenty of literature encouraging us to feed with flour, but to conclude, I will write a phrase that is a maxim in our industry: “better a good pellet than a bad meal.” And here, gentlemen, is where we, the technicians, come in to achieve the best result at the lowest possible cost.