ISSUE FOCUS 58 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2025 "It seems that all exotic raw materials have one thing in common: they have a negative effect on the pelleting process. Typically, they reduce pellet quality and pellet mill capacity while increasing energy consumption, costly wear and tear on machinery and overall operating costs. Because raw materials are by far the biggest share of feed costs (up to 85%), using lower-cost alternative raw materials will easily make up for increased production expenditures. That means that the pellet mill operator is left in a painful position and needs a better solution to produce the required daily feed amounts and quality." Every feed miller knows what is good for their pellet mill: A formulation consisting of a nice mix of maize, wheat and soya without too much fat. This mix is ideal for making good quality pellets at a high capacity, especially when an appropriate die specification and dry steam are used. However, with a growing world population, protein sources are becoming more scarce, making feed production more costly. On top of this the opinion exists that materials which can consumed by humans are not to be fed to animals. To make the feed industry more sustainable, we need to explore other raw material sources. Creating a circular feed industry is the first step. For many years, residues from other industries have been used in the feed industry, but we are and need to be even more creative in finding alternative protein sources. It seems that all exotic raw materials have one thing in common: they have a negative effect on the pelleting process. Typically, they reduce pellet quality and pellet mill capacity while increasing energy consumption, costly wear and tear on machinery and overall operating costs. Because raw materials are by far the biggest share of feed costs (up to 85%), using lower-cost alternative raw materials will easily make up for increased production expenditures. That means that the pellet mill operator is left in a painful position and needs a better solution to produce the required daily feed amounts and quality. Traditionally feed millers have only sought cost savings in the pelleting process. But this single-minded approach risks making them “penny wise and pound foolish”. The real cost saving is in the alternative lower cost ingredients. This creates openings to invest in the pelleting process. But for this we need to analyze the characteristics of the ingredients end recipes first, because “one size fits all” unfortunately doesn’t exist. LESS ABSORPTION Most alternative ingredients have lower absorption capabilities than traditional ingredients. This THE EFFECT OF ALTERNATIVE FEED INGREDIENTS ON THE PELLETING PROCESS Arthur vom Hofe Segment Manager - Feed & Oilseeds CPM Europe
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