August 15, 2012
I was recently invited by the American Soybean Association – International Marketing (ASA-IM) to Amman, Jordan, to conduct seminars to promote the use of properly processed, good quality…
August 8, 2012
After doing hundreds of equipment start-ups over the last 30 years, I’m here to tell you it can be a wild time that comes with emotional ups and…
August 1, 2012
Less than 30% of total cultivable land in Africa is presently under cultivation. That excludes forests. The data may be unreliable, but for want of better, Africa has…
July 25, 2012
We should probably start with what an extruder is. In fancy terms, it is a positive displacement machine designed to apply shear forces to raw ingredients in order…
July 18, 2012
We’ve already established three key variables which will determine the ultimate profitability of your feed processing plant: Feed formulation Raw material costs Market value of your output(s) My…
July 11, 2012
Anybody who owns more than one extruder will tell you they have one extruder machine that vibrates more than the other. Why is this? And what can you…
July 4, 2012
Last week, I accessed a Pig Progress Weblog where Dr. Ioannis Mavromichalis wrote about his experience with expeller soybean meal. He indicated that he likes the product in…
June 27, 2012
Don’t be lulled by the falling Food Price Index. FAO, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, announced early May that its Food Price Index which measures monthly price…
June 20, 2012
I was recently asked to speak at the U.S. State Department in front of many U.S. Government Agencies, International Embassies and other non-government organizations on the topic of…
June 13, 2012
When designing a manufacturing process, product obviously has to get from point A to point B. The typical way to do this is through conveying. This is a…
June 6, 2012
We’ve already established three key variables which will determine the ultimate profitability of your feed processing plant: Feed formulation Raw material costs Market value of your output(s) Today,…
May 30, 2012
Do you ever wonder how to correctly prevent maintenance issues on your extruder machines? The following is an excerpt from a short article published in Feed and Grain…
May 23, 2012
It is important for any business making a large investment in processing equipment to assure they are working with knowledgeable people who will be there for you. As…
May 16, 2012
In simple terms, shearing is what occurs when two forces act upon each other in opposite directions. The simplest example of this is when you rub your hands…
May 9, 2012
It has been a long and bitter night for African agribusiness. But is dawn about to break? Commercial banks in Ethiopia, for example, are still asleep when it…
May 2, 2012
I read an article by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). A new development of fully cooked instant Corn Soya Blend (CSB) for soybean processing by an…
April 25, 2012
So you’re thinking about starting a feed processing plant, or maybe you’ve already got one and you’re looking to expand. Chances are that this is going to require…
April 18, 2012
I’m a dairy farmer in Africa, and I need $5,000 to buy some cows – no problem! There are scores of micro-finance institutions ready to assist and lend…
