MANHATTAN, Kan. — Just as athletes need high quality food to be at the peak performance, so do the animals that go into the world’s food supply. Training animal feed providers on the best practices of feed handling was the focus of the IGP–KSU Feed Manufacturing course held at the IGP Institute, June 11–14. There were 26 participants who joined in the class representing Brazil, Canada, Ghana, Turkey and the United States. These professionals represented a wide range of jobs within the feed industry.
“This year’s annual IGP–KSU Feed Manufacturing course had a good group of professionals with diverse backgrounds ranging from feed millers to animal nutritionists to poultry farmers to equipment manufacturers to ingredient suppliers,” says Carlos Campabadal, IGP Institute feed manufacturing and grain quality management curriculum manager.
The course content covered a variety of topics including grain storage and pest control; particle size reduction; batching and mixing; extrusion drying and cooling; effect of feed processing on animal nutrition; pelleting, cooling and crumbling; feed and ingredient handling; feed plant design; energy conservation in the feed mill; steam generation systems; mold; and mycotoxins.
“The group had exposure to technical presentations that will help them improve their feed manufacturing skills,”Campabadal says. He adds that he training also included a tour of the O.H. Kruse Feed Technology Innovation Center, the Bioprocessing and Industrial Value Added Products Innovation Center (BIVAP), and the K–State Dairy Farm.
This course had two participants from Ghana who were sponsored by the American Soybean Association and the World Initiative for Soy in Human Health (WISHH). These poultry farmers were interested in learning ways to improve the feed for their poultry at all stages.
One of those participants, Douglas Adu, says, “If you want quality product or quality soybeans you do not talk about the price you talk about the quality.” He adds, “Because of this course, I know if I depend mainly on American soybeans because of the quality high protein it will help my poultry farm grow.”
In addition to feed manufacturing and grain quality management trainings, the IGP Institute offers courses in the areas of flour milling and grain processing, and grain purchasing and risk management. To learn more about these other training opportunities, visit the IGP Institute website at www.ksu.edu/igp.
— Tarra Rotstein, Communications Intern, KSU-IGP Institute
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