Compound feed manufacturing goes well beyond the mixing and milling of feed materials.

The main goal of a compound feed manufacturer is to make the most efficient use of safe and economically viable resources available, in order to produce a balanced feed meeting the farm animals’ physiological requirements and supporting their performance allowing for an equally efficient, safe and economically viable livestock production. Feed formulators hold profound scientific expertise in animal nutrition, which even surpasses the knowledge that exists on human nutrition.

They are part of the five key stages relevant to the activities of a compound feed manufacturer. To secure optimal production, while preserving animal health and welfare, feed manufacturers evaluate the nutritional requirements of the animals and produce a tailor-made cost-efficient feed, based on their knowledge of the nutritional value of a large range of feed materials. It is of key importance to make sure that the nutritional requirements of the animals for all essential nutrients, such as energy, essential amino-acids, trace-elements and minerals, are met. An imbalance in nutrition can have adverse effects on the animal’s performance and severe nutritional imbalance could even affect animal health and welfare. However, in the light of resource efficiency and control of environmental emissions, it is also important to avoid nutrient wastage and losses.

Feed manufacturers help livestock farmers with developing the perfectly balanced feed diet for the benefit of healthy animals, which is the best driver for animal performance, for any kind of production system and for all farm animal species. The (formulated) feed will also be adapted to the life stage of the farm animal as, for example, the stages of pre-weaning, post-weaning or post-lactating animals all require specific nutrients. Additional services offered by compound feed manufacturers to the livestock farmers are dietetic feeds for farm animals facing particular stress situations and in the case of sick animals the production of medicated feed, whose use may only be prescribed by a qualified veterinarian. In order to continue the improvement of knowledge in animal nutrition, compound feed manufacturers continuously invest in research and innovation to find the most sustainable alternatives. After all, animals require nutrients and not ingredients.