ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S. — Famo Feeds, Freeport, Minnesota, U.S., was named the 2018 Feed Facility of the Year during the American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) Feed Education Program on Feb. 13 at the Georgia World Congress Center.
Tom Beste, vice-president of Famo Feeds, accepted the award along with John Beste, president, and Kurt Marthaler, plant manager. Tom Beste said the honor was mainly due to the dedicated employees of the family-owned company.
“I’d like thank all people in the company that made this possible,” Tom Beste said. “Whether they have been with us 20 or 30 years or are new employees who have come in and got on board with FSMA and things like that, this reward really is for the people in the plant, the employees of the company. I am really grateful to all of them.”
Famo Feeds produces dry feed and has served livestock producers in the Midwest since 1903. It is an animal nutrition business that manufactures and markets a full-line of livestock and poultry feeds. Tom Beste said the staff takes pride in the quality of its products and programs, the strength of its team and the collective impact they make in the industry.
In the last few years, Famo Feeds has made a number of improvements and upgrades to the plant, including adding a new automation system, rebuilding a pellet mill and mixer and upgrading a boiler. The new Repete FLX automation system has allowed Famo Feeds to increase its production efficiency while at the same time, improving its working environment.
Tom Beste said the company has seen almost a 10% improvement in capacity while making individuals’ jobs easier.
“Every day we build upon Famo Feed’s commitment to creating quality nutritional solutions for livestock and poultry,” Tom Beste said.
It marked the first time that the annual award, which is co-sponsored by AFIA and Feedstuffs, has been presented to a family-owned company, said Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs.
The award recognizes overall excellence in feed manufacturing operations, emphasizes the company’s commitment to safety, quality, regulatory compliance and employee development and highlights its overall operating efficiencies.
Formerly the Feed Mill of the Year Award, the AFIA and Feedstuffs modified the program in 2016, and it is now recognized as a first-class benchmarking program for the animal food industry. Representing each of the several types of feed manufacturing facilities within AFIA’s membership, the format compares and recognizes top-performing facilities in four categories: commercial dry livestock, integrator, liquid feed and premix. From those, the Feed Facility of the Year award is selected.
The AFIA recognized the category winners earlier this month and honored them with plaques at the Feed Education Program.
In addition to Famo Feeds, which won the commercial dry livestock feed plant category, the other winners were:
- Koch Foods, Morton, Mississippi, U.S., in the integrator category
- Quality Liquid Feeds, Clovis, New Mexico, U.S., in the liquid feed plant category
- Trouw Nutrition, Highland, Illinois, U.S., in the premix manufacturing plant category.
