NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. – A new feed research centre designed to benefit crop and livestock producers in Western Canada is continuing to take shape in North Battleford.
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz announced March 4 that Ottawa will kick in $600,000 to install a pilot-scale steam flake and extrusion mill at the facility.
The centre, known as the Canadian Feed Research Centre (CFRC), is owned by the University of Saskatchewan and is expected to conduct specialized feed and animal nutrition research aimed at developing and commercializing new feed technologies.
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A total of $13.3 million has now been invested in the centre by Ottawa, the province of Saskatchewan and the university.
The centre, which includes a pilot-scale research component and a commercial-scale processing plant, will be a state-of-the-art facility.
Only four pilot lines in the world will have a similar research capabilities. Of those, none is associated with a large scale commercial mill.
The commercial mill at the North Battleford facility is already operating.
The university has a lease agreement with Cargill, allowing the company to use the commercial plant.
The pilot-scale research component is slated to open later this year.
Graham Scoles, associate dean at the university’s College of Agriculture, said anything that works well in the pilot scale plant can be transferred over to the commercial plant and produced on a much larger scale to make sure it really works.
“It’s a world-class mill and will certainly have the capacity to develop the feed rations for our world-class genetics,” Scoles said.
Added Ritz: “The more diversity you have in adding value to products at the farm gate and beyond certainly is good for farmers and processors …. This is another link in that chain.”
Much of the feed research conducted at CFRC will involve canola and pulses. The facility will use those and other low value feedstocks and advanced feed processing methods to develop feeds that meet the unique dietary requirements of different types of livestock.
The research will use techniques such as extrusion technology and vacuum coating of pellets to increase the nutritional value of the feed.
Spinoffs from the higher value products will create more diversified animal feed with increased sales and exports of Saskatchewan produced animal feed.
Tom Scott, associate professor and research chair in feed processing technology at the U od S, said it should take three to four months to install the equipment in the pilot line.
He is eager to get started and has a long list of feed-related questions that the new facility will help answer.
“Questions about how do you process ingredients to get the very uniform, very consistent animal performance. We don’t know that,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of initial, small studies done in isolation but we don’t have a consistent formula.
Scott said advanced technology such as near infrared spectrometry will allow researchers to examine the quality of raw feedstocks and determine what other nutrients must be added to the diet to produce consistent, high-quality feeds.
