October 2, 2017

Ceres Solutions invests in expansion of feed-processing plant in US

Ceres Solutions Cooperative, a company based in Crawfordsville, Indiana, US, is investing US$11.5 million for the expansion of a feed-processing facility in Michigan, MiBiz reported.

The new facility, to be built in Newaygo County, will directly serve the growing number of pork, dairy, turkey and chicken producers in Michigan. Expected to open in January next year, the feed mill will operate autonomously and features various bio-security measures.

Once the plant goes operational, Ceres will be able to boost its yearly animal feed output from 50,000 tonnes to 125,000 tonnes. The facility could also produce an annual output of 300,000 tonnes at its full producing capacity.    

"Before the rate increase, we would ship several hundred cars a year from Fremont (location of Cere's production site)  and go to the Southeastern United States to feed chickens," Hall said. "After the rate increase took effect, we don't ship any corn out of the state anymore. It all stays local and gets fed or processed. It either goes into an animal or into ethanol."

Consequentially, with the higher availability of feed in Michigan, the state's producers are able to raise more animals, in turn driving the demand for feed-processing capacity.

- MiBiz