The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has unveiled that animal health and nutrition company BioZyme’s Stockyard plant in Missouri has been named as the 2024 Feed Facility of the Year. This award recognizes the plant’s outstanding commitment to safety, quality, regulatory compliance, productivity, sustainability, and more.
The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Feedstuffs have named BioZyme’s Stockyard plant in St. Joseph, Missouri, as its 2024 Feed Facility of the Year. This prestigious award is presented annually to a feed facility demonstrating an outstanding commitment to quality, safety, productivity, regulatory compliance, employee development and customer relations. Through the Feed Facility of the Year program, the AFIA reportedly also raised approximately $14k for the Equipment Manufacturers Committee (EMC) scholarship, supporting the development of future leaders in the industry.
“We were extremely impressed with the BioZyme Stockyards facility, as it is evident that the company and its staff exemplify the core values of the Feed Facility of the Year program,” says Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s Director of Feed Manufacturing and Regulatory Affairs. “The plant is a shining example of manufacturing excellence in the animal food industry.”
BioZyme, an animal nutrition and microbiology company, has been driving innovation since 1951. Founded by Larry Ehlert, BioZyme began as Ehlert’s Guaranteed Feeds with just a $2,5k loan and a small feed store in St. Joseph. Today, BioZyme’s product line includes high-quality vitamin, mineral and protein supplements enhanced with Amaferm, a natural prebiotic. Under the management of Cody Jensen, the Stockyard plant produces 31,000 tons annually. The company plans to host a special event with employees on October 31 to celebrate the achievement.
“Biozyme is honored and humbled to be chosen for this recognition. Our team believes in care that comes full circle – in other words, if we use care in all that we do, it will come back and allow us to be continuously improving for the industry we all love and are proud to serve,” states Lisa Norton, BioZyme’s President.
The AFIA and Feedstuffs also extended their congratulations to the following facilities in the 2024 Feed Facility of the Year program:
• Westway Feed Products, Houston, Texas – semi-finalist, highest liquid feed facility score and highest sustainability score.
• Western Milling, Goshen, Calif. – semi-finalist and highest commercial dry facility score.
• Mountaire Scotland County Feed Mill, Maxton, N.C. – semi-finalist and highest integrator facility score.
• Kent Nutrition Group, Marshall, Mo. – semi-finalist.
• Quality Liquid Feeds, Comstock Park, Mich. – semi-finalist.
• Wenger Feeds, Muncy, Pa. – semi-finalist.
• Kent Nutrition Group, Bow, N.H. – highest safety score.
• Kent Nutrition Group, Logansport, Ind. – highest quality and food safety score.
• BioZyme Stockyards Facility, St. Joseph, Mo. – highest productivity and efficiency score.
The AFIA has been recognizing excellent feed manufacturing facilities through the Feed Facility of the Year program since 1985. According to the press release, while the program has undergone some changes to how the award is given, a key reason why facilities participate is that they receive comprehensive benchmarking reports following their entry, providing them with valuable insights into how their facilities compare to others so that they may work on continuous improvement. New for 2024, all proceeds from the FFY program are donated to the EMC scholarship fund, which is administered by the Institute for Feed Education and Research and provides scholarships to college students seeking careers in the feed industry.
