We have 180,000 layers and we farrow-to-finish hogs. We’ve got 70 sows and 200 to 300 finishers. I was having all our feed toll-milled before, and it cost us $180,000 to $200,000 a year for milling and trucking, and that’s not including extras like corn meal.
Our AGTRONIX equipment includes an LX 800 micro mixer, eight micro bins, and eight weight-proportioned feed blenders. We actually added the eight-inch unit for bean hulls and other fluffy material a year or so after [the initial setup]. We molt our layers, and you need light feed for that. It’s a five- to six-week process. I was still having it toll-milled, but I realized after one round of that I could better spend my money on equipment to handle that feed myself.
We’ve upgraded three times already to make the process go faster. If anyone is considering a mill, I’d tell them to go plan for expansion. We were hoping for a seven-year payoff, but it was more like five years. I can grind a load of feed and fill the semi in an hour and 20 minutes, just enough time to eat my lunch and check my email.
