WHITE CLOUD, Mich. — More than 100 employees and customers of Ceres Solutions Cooperative gathered last Friday, July 20, at the new state-of-the-art White Cloud Feed Mill. The celebration was in honor of the community vendors, development partners, employees and customers who have a stake in the success of this significant investment in Newaygo County. Guests were invited to participate in behind-the-scenes guided tours through the entire facility: a very uncommon opportunity in an industry that traditionally operates within tightly restricted, bio-secure manufacturing conditions.
Guests donned hard hats and learned the impressive capabilities that will make this $13 million facility a feed production powerhouse in the area. Ceres Solutions CEO Jeff Troike thanked the community and building partners, and representatives from the Ceres Solutions Board of Directors were present to share in the success with employees from Fremont and surrounding Ceres Solutions locations. The operation has been open since April to serve customers, and is managed by local resident Henry Huisjen.
Ceres Michigan Operations Manager Martin Hall (pictured, hard hat, green polo) thanked everyone in attendance: “This investment has created a partnership resource for producers in Michigan to grow and expand their family farms for generations to come. Our commitment is to be the area’s leader in supplying the highest quality nutritional products and cutting-edge technologies our customers need to succeed.” For more information about Ceres Solutions, visit ceres.coop.
10 FEED MILL FACTS
- 1,825 tons of ingredient are stored in 37 separate bins.
- Load out storage capacity in 18 bins is 522 tons.
- The location can receive up to 7,500 bushels per hour, and has 90,000 bushel grain storage with room to grow.
- The White Cloud Feed Mill is on pace to manufacture more than 110,000 tons of feed in its first year
- The team will have the ability to manufacture 250,000 tons of dairy, swine and poultry feeds in subsequent years.
- This is a bio-secure facility. Employees utilize designated clothing, hand washing and full showering security protocols.
- Traffic is restricted. All inbound vehicles are disinfected, and visitors utilize footbaths.
- All medications and ingredients are UPC scanned four times.
- All ingredients are weighed to .001 accuracy before being added to a mix.
- White Cloud is part of Ceres Solutions, so it is 100% owned by the local farmers this cooperative serves.
— Ceres Solutions
For more news from Michigan, click here.