September 21, 2017
In part 1, I discussed the effect of dietary crude fiber level, or the amount of indigestible carbohydrates, on metabolizable energy content of a broiler diet. As the…
September 14, 2017
Soybeans consumed by livestock and poultry animals worldwide are processed through solvent or mechanical extraction then converted to soybean meal. As the inventor of high shear, dry extrusion,…
September 7, 2017
A simple, yet often overlooked item required in extrusion facilities are motor starters. This device is essentially a giant switch to supply power to a motor. Several companies…
August 31, 2017
FAO predicts that by 2050 food production will have to increase by 70 percent in order to meet the population’s food demand. They also mention that combating poverty…
August 24, 2017
There are many choices when formulating diets for food animals. Understandably, least-cost formulation programs are used to quickly determine how to meet certain nutrient requirements, different for each…
August 17, 2017
There’s an old quote that says “you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” While this may be philosophical, it can be relevant to…
August 10, 2017
Equipment efficiency is measured in operating hours, energy consumption, output, processing losses, and so on. Man, too, likes to measure his work time in hours. Managing employee hours…
August 3, 2017
In a previous blog, we discussed implementing an extrusion facility for poverty alleviation. The center mentioned in the blog, Don Bosco Agro-Mechanical Technology Center, is managed by Salesian…
July 27, 2017
We recently crossed the halfway point for 2017. At this time of year, you are reflecting on your strategic plans and getting ready to make more decisions that…
July 20, 2017
In this industry, we talk about protein a lot. This is because it helps evaluate the value of an ingredient or diet. The type of protein we are…
July 13, 2017
When I started my career in a pig breeding farm way back in 1978, the length of a 6-month-old gilt was about 110 cm (~ 43 in) and…
July 6, 2017
A recent blog post over at WATT made some good points while discussing a topic many livestock producers debate – investing in high-quality ingredients versus inexpensive ingredients for…
June 29, 2017
Recently, my friends and I were discussing our frustration when calling to get service support, only to get a recorded message asking us to enter information. This frustration…
June 15, 2017
As the world population increases, the need to feed more and more people increases as well. A hot topic during our sales discussions is the development of our…
June 8, 2017
Safety is often overlooked, but it is one of, if not the most important, responsibilities of the workplace. Large machinery is very heavy and consists of moving parts…
June 1, 2017
I can remember a time, not so long ago, when the entire focus of animal protein production was on lean growth in as few days as possible –…
May 25, 2017
It has been about 9 months since Insta-Pro started offering 90-day terms on parts and equipment orders to our international customers. In that time, several of our customers…
May 18, 2017
We invented the high-shear dry extrusion process and have sought to optimize it over the years through research—much of which has been detailed here on the blog. In a…
