Freeport, MN - Tom Beste, vice president of Famo Feeds Inc., a single-facility, family-owned feed manufacturing company in Freeport, MN (320-836-2145), recalls when a group of customers approached the company with a request.
Could the company develop feeds formulated specifically for animals being shown in competitions at state and county fairs or other venues?
The company’s 40 employees got to work, and before long, Famo Feeds was offering show feeds tested by its own customers across central Minnesota under its private label.
That example of company managers, employees, and customers working together to develop improved products was one of the items that inspired judges at the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Feedstuffs magazine to name the Freeport mill their 2018 Feed Facility of the Year. The company also was honored as the winner in the commercial dry feed category.
The 2018 award was particularly historic – the first time ever given to a family-owned feed mill.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime award for us,” says Tom Beste. “We are really happy for our employees and our customers who have made us a better company.
“My brother (John, president) and I are active in the day-to-day business,” he continues. “We talk with customers every day. Our field sales support staff are out visiting farms and dealers every day. Our service staff includes two Ph.D.s, a veterinarian and a dairy nutritionist who spend most of their time on farms.”
Founded in 1903, Famo Feeds has been producing and selling livestock feeds since the 1960s. The company currently operates out of a single plant opened in 2004 located next to the Freeport exit on Interstate 94.
The company produces feeds for a variety of animals, including dairy, beef, swine, poultry, horses, rabbits, sheep, deer, elk, and companion animals, as well as vitamin mineral mixes and texturized feeds.
Since the new plant opened, the company has focused on using certified quality programs as a benchmark to improve plant operations, Beste says. Famo Feeds became certified under the AFIA’s Safe Feed, Safe Food program in 2005 and achieved Hazard Analysis/Critical Control Points (HACCP) certification in 2010.
More recently, Famo Feeds has worked to comply with the complex Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulations, setting up a series of Critical Control Points around the mill for continuous monitoring. “We’d rather be proactive in getting these certifications than wait for the deadlines,” Beste says. “Because we had done the work with earlier certifications, FSMA wasn’t that difficult for us.”
The work involved under the Feed Facility of the Year program was just the latest means for Famo Feeds to continue its improvement efforts. Participants learn from past winners whose operations offer benchmarks for the entire feed industry.
Perhaps the biggest improvement recently at Famo Feeds was the replacement of older Repete automation software with the latest Repete FLX system. This features an advanced artificial intelligence component that allows the system to learn as it goes from batch to batch to perfect the blending of formulas and pellet production. “This allows our employees to focus on other responsibilities,” Beste says.
Other recent improvements include installation of a Fanuc robotic pallet stacker, Schenck Process dust collection system, and a new stainless steel leg for handling pellets, as well as rebuilding a Scott mixer and reroofing the mill tower.
Reprinted from Grain Journal May/June 2019 Issue
