The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), in partnership with Feedstuffs, has named Belstra Milling’s DeMotte, Ind., plant as its 2021 Premix/Ingredient Feed Facility of the Year. Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs, presented the facility’s leadership with the award during the AFIA’s Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conference (PISC) in San Francisco, California.
“Belstra Milling is a company built on a solid foundation of core values such as integrity, quality and service, and those values shine through when making feed and taking care of their customers,” Huddleston said. “Belstra prides itself on manufacturing the freshest, highest-quality feed available, and I am honored to present them with this prestigious industry award.”
Belstra Milling is a family- and employee-owned company that manufactures feeds for a variety of operations and species, from large-scale dairies and sow farms to hobby farmers and family pets. Belstra was built on service and relationships with local farmers and people whose passion is taking care of animals. A small but mighty team of 12 employees manufactures 80,000 tons of feed premixes annually. A key element that helped Belstra stand out among the competition, its manufacturing area boasts a unique HVAC system that helps with tough-to-handle ingredients.
“This award is a credit to all of the hard work and dedication that all our employees put in day-in and day-out,” said Drew Mellon, Belstra Milling’s vice president of feed production. “Without them, this would not be possible, so thank you all.”
The AFIA also recognizes TransAgra International in Storm Lake, Iowa, as a semi-finalist Novus Arkansas in Little Rock, Ark., for receiving the highest safety score; and Trouw Nutrition in Neosho, Miss., for receiving the highest quality and food safety score.
The AFIA has been recognizing excellent feed manufacturing facilities through the Feed Facility of the Year program since 1985, with 2021 marking the first year that the association began issuing top industry awards to facilities in four categories: commercial dry, liquid feed, premix and ingredient, and integrator. Learn more at afia.org/FFY.
