December 28, 2023

 

New US$47 million hog feed mill to be set up in central Pennsylvania, US

 

 

A new US$47 million feed mill is being constructed in central Pennsylvania, the United States, by Country View Family Farms.

 

The mill will produce enough feed to supply at least 120 Pennsylvania farms contracted with Country View Family Farms LLC, a Middletown-based hog procurement and production company owned by the Clemens Family Corp.

 

The Union County-based hog feed mill will be capable of producing 8,000 tonnes of feed a week.

 

Last year, Country View outlined plans for a new mill, which is located on a 100-acre parcel in White Deer Township. In addition to feed production, the project will also include storage for 600,000 bushels of corn and soybean. The facility is on track to be operational by October 2024.

 

According to Aaron Ott, president of Country View Family Farms, the new mill will produce enough feed to meet the needs of about 60% of Country View's contracted hog producers and most of them are within 50 miles of the site.

 

"It will support some of our current business and support growth," he said. "Right now, the feed production number is based on a five-day week, so we can expand that to six days if we need to."

 

Ott added that grain for the mill will be purchased from local farms and the facility will operate 24 hours a day, employing 50 people including mill operators and truck drivers.

 

"Local grain purchasing will depend on the growing season. In a year like we just had, we'd probably be able to purchase all of it locally," he said. "We're really excited to work with the local farming community."

 

The feed mill will sit under a 176-foot-tall mill tower that has a 3,582-square-foot base. Four 150-foot-tall grain silos and a pelleting annex are also included in the project.

 

The mill will bring several benefits that will improve efficiency and cost, according to Ott. Previously, Country View purchased feed from other mills for its hog farms, and the process was sometimes time consuming as those mills had to change over from production for other species, such as cattle and poultry.

 

Since the new mill will focus solely on hog feed production for all stages — farrow to finish — there will be no time loss for changeover. There will also be capability to produce antibiotic-free feed in the mill.

 

"Our contract growers will see a consistent product on feed from one mill. It will be more efficient than having to switch between species and we won't have to compete with feed demands at other mills," Ott said.

 

- Lancaster Farming