Agriculture businesses rely on animal nutrition to ensure the best performance of their livestock. But getting the mix just right can be challenging for animal nutrition manufacturers. Developing and distributing feed and nutrition products for different animals requires expert bulk material handling for a wide variety of powders and grains. Finding efficiencies in animal nutrition conveying and the process line contributes to profitability and helps build a sustainable business.

Challenges in animal nutrition manufacturing

With rising prices for raw materials like milk powder and grain, unpredictable weather patterns, and disease, feed production has always been a balancing act. Add in supply chain issues caused by a global pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and increased demand for pet food and the global agri-feed sector is under more pressure than ever. Profitability hinges on the ability to reduce costs while developing and delivering high-quality products that keep pace with demand.

Powder handling in agricultural applications

Commercial feed production relies on expensive nutritional supplements and additives. Gentle handling of these costly materials is required, to protect the integrity of the raw material and maintain the quality of the final product. These may include trace minerals like:

• Acid buff
• Dicalcium phosphate
• Copper sulphate
• Manganous oxide
• Zinc sulphate
• Lime

In addition, different combinations of raw materials are used, including vegetable protein meals:

• Canola meal
• Copra meal
• Cottonseed hulls
• Cottonseed meal
• Dried distiller’s grain
• Full-fat soybean meal
• Grains
• Millrun
• Mung bean gradings
• Palm kernel meal
• Soybean meal
• Whole cottonseed.

Lastly, animal protein meals are common ingredients in stockfeed.

• Blood meal
• Meat and bone meal
• Fish meal
• Feather meal
• Poultry meal

Meeting the process line challenges for stockfeed

Maintaining high throughputs is the key to a profitable operation, as long as your process prevents the separation of premixes and blends during processing. Each agribusiness has different preferences for their livestock, which requires different mixes of plant proteins, animal proteins, supplements, and additives. Feed manufacturers are faced with delays in their production for cleaning the process line between batches.

One way to introduce efficiency into an animal nutrition process line is to invest in powder handling equipment that’s able to efficiently handle all the different powders and granules used in stockfeed production. The aero-mechanical method of conveying is known for its ability to gently transfer and elevate raw materials while achieving high throughputs.

Agriculture powder handling specialists

Not all aero-mechanical conveyors are the same. As powder handling specialists, Floveyor pioneered the aero-mechanical method of conveying. Floveyors with FloDisc® Technology have been helping agriculture businesses run profitable operations for more than 65 years. They’re  known for preserving the integrity of mixes and blends so each formulation delivers all the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients needed with minimal breakage and waste.

Here’s why Floveyor is the best choice for an agribusiness looking to put cost-saving efficiencies into their animal nutrition process line.

• Handles multiple materials including powders, pellets, granules, grains, seeds, kibbles and flakes with a single machine
• Gentle transfer of fragile materials ensures every batch is perfect
• Total batch transfers eliminates or greatly reduces the need to clean between batches
• Low maintenance and easy cleaning keeps your process line running around the clock
• Durability contributes to high availability rates
• Energy-efficient conveying helps reduce the operating cost of animal nutrition conveying
• Process line technology provides seamless integration with Floveyor conveyors, reducing the amount of manual effort required by your operators
• Dust-free conveying keeps your plant and your operators safe
• Low noise conveying adds to operator comfort
• Mobile units increase availability for use in different parts of the plant
• Small footprint makes for easy integration into new and existing plants.

Read how an agribusiness has increased their production time by using a Floveyor conveying solution.

Avida: the workhorse for animal nutrition conveying

For rapid order fulfilment and a low cost of ownership, commercial feed manufacturers shouldn’t look past the Floveyor Avida. With capacity up to 30 tonnes per hour, the Avida easily handles bulk materials found in stockfeed, pet food and animal nutrition for all types of animals. Set-up is fast and easy, which lets your operators get to work right away.

To find out more about how Floveyor can help your feed business add efficiencies and cost savings to your daily operations, get in touch with us. As powder handling specialists with a long history in agriculture applications, Floveyor has optimised materials handling for agribusinesses all over the world.