Evaluating Ingredients – Effect of Crude Fiber in Poultry Part 1
August 24, 2017
There are many choices when formulating diets for food animals. Understandably, least-cost formulation programs are used to quickly determine how to meet certain nutrient requirements, different for each…
Author: Dave Albin
Automation & Process Control
August 17, 2017
There’s an old quote that says “you don’t know where you’re going until you know where you’ve been.” While this may be philosophical, it can be relevant to…
Author: Kenneth Aniunoh
Machine Hours and Man Hours
August 10, 2017
Equipment efficiency is measured in operating hours, energy consumption, output, processing losses, and so on. Man, too, likes to measure his work time in hours. Managing employee hours…
Author: Michael Martin
Extrusion Facility For Poverty Alleviation Part II
August 3, 2017
In a previous blog, we discussed implementing an extrusion facility for poverty alleviation. The center mentioned in the blog, Don Bosco Agro-Mechanical Technology Center, is managed by Salesian…
Author: Adam Sackett
Mid-Year Business Considerations & Planning Ahead
July 27, 2017
We recently crossed the halfway point for 2017. At this time of year, you are reflecting on your strategic plans and getting ready to make more decisions that…
Author: Adam Sackett
Amino Acids: Looking Beyond Protein Levels for Animal Performance
July 20, 2017
In this industry, we talk about protein a lot. This is because it helps evaluate the value of an ingredient or diet. The type of protein we are…
Author: Dave Albin
Feeding Modern Sows
July 13, 2017
When I started my career in a pig breeding farm way back in 1978, the length of a 6-month-old gilt was about 110 cm (~ 43 in) and…
Author: Mayette Ramos
Get More With A Quality Process & Quality Ingredients
July 6, 2017
A recent blog post over at WATT made some good points while discussing a topic many livestock producers debate – investing in high-quality ingredients versus inexpensive ingredients for…
Author: Dave Albin
Personal Service: A Thing of The Past?
June 29, 2017
Recently, my friends and I were discussing our frustration when calling to get service support, only to get a recorded message asking us to enter information. This frustration…
Author: Karl Arnold
Low Cost TSP Trials
June 15, 2017
As the world population increases, the need to feed more and more people increases as well. A hot topic during our sales discussions is the development of our…
Author: Kenneth Aniunoh
Safety when working on Insta-Pro Extruders
June 8, 2017
Safety is often overlooked, but it is one of, if not the most important, responsibilities of the workplace. Large machinery is very heavy and consists of moving parts…
Author: John Doud
Strategies for Slower-Growing Broilers
June 1, 2017
I can remember a time, not so long ago, when the entire focus of animal protein production was on lean growth in as few days as possible –…
Author: Dave Albin
90-day Ex-Im Financing Successes
May 25, 2017
It has been about 9 months since Insta-Pro started offering 90-day terms on parts and equipment orders to our international customers. In that time, several of our customers…
Author: Adam Sackett
Properly-Processed ExPress® Soy Meal Maintains High Digestibility & Greater Metabolizable Energy
May 18, 2017
We invented the high-shear dry extrusion process and have sought to optimize it over the years through research—much of which has been detailed here on the blog. In a…
Author: Dave Albin
Importance of Correct Parameters (Part 1)
May 11, 2017
When running soybeans through an extruder or through an ExPress® system (an extruder and a press in-line) it is very important to have all the correct parameters to…
Author: John Doud
Using Dry Extruded Whole Soybeans (“extruded full-fat”) in Formulations
May 4, 2017
For several decades, Insta-Pro International has been well known around the world for dry extrusion, which we invented in the 1960’s. You can read more about it here. …
Author: Dave Albin
Trials and tribulations of African food processors
April 27, 2017
Much of the food that we eat has been processed by small & medium enterprises, often family-owned. It is no different in Africa. The food giants are present,…
Author: Michael Martin
The Effects of Extrusion on Heat Sensitive Ingredients – Part II
April 13, 2017
In Part I of this blog, I discussed the importance of paying attention to the way some ingredients, such as vitamins and probiotics, react to the extrusion cooking…
Author: John Doud