US: Swine sector growth prompts new feed mills

02-04-2009 | Home | News

Farmers Cooperative Company in Iowa and The Maschhoffs Inc in Illinois are each to build a new feed mill to serve their customers in the growing pig production sector.

Farmers Cooperative Company (FC) announced it intends to build a state-of-the-art feed mill in Coon Rapids, starting this spring.

At capacity, the proposed mill would have 400,000 tonnes annual output and employ up to 25 people. The mill would convert approximately 9 million bushels (app. 230,000 t) of corn per year.

According to FC’s CEO, Roger Koppen, the strong and continuous growth of swine production in the area justifies the new mill and will reinforce FC’s position as a long-term player in Iowa’s feed industry.

Farmer’s Cooperative Company is Iowa’s largest agricultural cooperative and serves nearly 6,000 member owners throughout a trade territory of over 1.4 million acres ((560,000 ha).

FC is owned and operated by the farmers it serves and governed by a board of directors. FC has more than 50 locations statewide and employs a team of nearly 500 employees.

Illinois initiative
The Maschhoffs Inc., a family-owned swine cooperative plans a $14 million feed mill south of Griggsville, Illinois.

The mill could produce 450,000 tonnes of feed a year, more than doubling the company’s current capacity at a site north of Pittsfield.

The new mill will mean an additional eight to 14 jobs over the next two or three years, primarily in a new pelleting line, grain storage and trucking.

Construction would begin by summer. The plans are contingent on approval of a conditional use permit and variance by the Pike County Board.

Dave and Karen Maschhoff and Ken and Julie Maschhoff are fifth generation farmers who own the Carlyle-based company, and they partner with a network of 300 family farmers across the Midwest to produce 2.7 million pigs per year.

Some features of the new mill include:
* Everything will be enclosed to limit dust concerns.
* The mill will have storage for around 1.5 million bushels (37,500 tonnes) of grain for its own use. It will not provide grain storage for farmers.
* No livestock will be housed at the site.

The conditional use permit was needed for an agricultural building in an industrial-zoned area. The variance permits the height of the structure, which will reach 190 feet (64 m) at its uppermost point, well above the 50 feet (17 m) limit in county zoning.

Related website
• Farmers Cooperative Company
• The Maschhoffs
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