The plant produces an annual tonnage of 80,000 tons with two shifts.
By Sarah Muirhead The Belstra Milling Co. Inc., a family- and employee-owned company based in DeMotte, Ind., has long produced high-quality, complete nutritional feeds, and most recently vitamin and mineral premixes.
The company, which serves large-scale dairies and sow farms as well as hobby farmers and pet owners, is the 2021 American Feed Industry Association / Feedstuffs Premix Feed Facility of the Year.
Belstra Milling entered the premix business in 2016 with the construction of a premix facility to the north of its main feed manufacturing plant. Traditionally serving the hog sector, when large commercial dairies moved into the area in 2000, the company made a strategic move to serve that market in a big way as well. The plant currently produces an annual tonnage of 80,000 tons with two shifts and 12 employees.
Since its initial investment, Belstra has added on a warehouse, essentially doubling the size of the overall building square footage. When the facility first opened, it was built with limited storage capabilities. The addition of the new warehouse, attached to the existing facility, helps with efficiency as we are now able to store ingredients for daily production in the same building rather than shuttle them back and forth across the property from other warehouses, said Plant Manager Drew Mellon.
Another advantage of the warehouse addition is the ability to purchase more ingredients at a time, getting a better price and allowing for the passing these savings on to customers. The company is able to purchase more ingredients if there is a price rise coming, saving their customers money, said Mellon. The addition of the warehouse has been a huge improvement to the facility efficiency and purchasing capabilities for our business, said Larisa Bontrager, Regulatory Compliance Manager for Belstra. The core values at Belstra can be seen on signs around the facility. Those are integrity, quality and service. “We strive to adhere to these goals on a daily basis by producing quality, cost effective and safe products that are used in feeding animals as part of the food chain,” said Tim Belstra, Board Chairman of Belstra Milling.
The premix team at Belstra Milling in DeMotte, Ind.
We made a commitment to build a plant that is driven by the current and expected growth, and it has exceeded our expectations, Tim Belstra said. He added that customers are Belstra Milling’s number one priority. “Our premix plant is completely customer focused, stocking over 300 different ingredients and making hundreds of different formulas. We always bring in new ingredients as nutritionists change formulas. Additionally, no matter the situation, we will always make sure our customers never run out of feed. We have and will continue to push ourselves to each and every day to produce quality feed while living up to our stated values, said Bontrager.
The Belstra Milling values: Integrity, quality and service.
While customers served and animals fed are top priorities, so are employees at Belstra. The premix facility is climate controlled to allow for improved product flow but also staff comfort year-round.
Tim Belstra noted that while it required an upfront investment, the climate control system helps with product movement, but an added bonus is that of employee comfort.
A lot of the products we use react with heat and humidity, so the climate control helps with that, said Bontrager. Family history, values Albert “Bud” Belstra founded the Belstra Milling in 1954 after having purchased the small Pillsbury feed business from his employer. Belstra Milling quickly became the primary source for custom livestock and poultry feed in the area. With feed production growing, Bud Belstra expanded the company in 1960 through the purchase of the Bauman Feed Mill and its Purina Chow brands. Furthering his vision and having recognized the need for higher quality and superior custom feeds, the Belstra Milling feed mill was built in 1967 and began producing the flagship brand “Action Feeds” soon thereafter. Bud Belstra’s sons, Tim and Max Belstra, joined the family business in 1971 and 1973, respectively. Bud Belstra instilled the importance of integrity, quality and service while working closely with his sons for nearly 15 years. These values, and a lot of hard work allowed Tim and Max to purchase the company in 1987. Tim and Max Belstra continued the vision of their father and led Belstra Milling through further growth and success throughout the 1980s and beyond. Holding true to Belstra’s values and finding team members that aligned with those, led them to hire Malcolm DeKryger in 1991. DeKryger’s contributions have included the addition of the gilt multiplier farms and greater processing capabilities, both which led Belstra Milling to triple its feed production.
While it required an upfront investment, the climate control system helps with product movement, but an added bonus is that of employee comfort. A lot of the products in the plant react with heat and humidity, so a climate control system helps with that and adds to staff comfort.
Tim Belstra became the sole owner and President of Belstra Milling after the loss of his brother Max in 2000 and father Bud in 2008. DeKryger became President of Belstra Milling in 2013. Tim Belstra continues his role in the company as Board Chairman. In 2014, Heinold Feeds in nearby Kouts, Ind., was purchased, adding another component of specialty feeds along with dairy, beef and small animal formulas to Belstra Milling’s feed lineup. In 2018, Belstra Milling added the sixth and largest sow farm, Interstate Family Farms (IFF). Most recently in 2020, Belstra Milling entered into an agreement to purchase NatureServe feeds, a poultry feed brand that is unique in that the feeds contain essential oils.
The company’s transportation division, BMC Transport, delivers feed in bulk to the Midwest region of the U.S. and has a transportation network of options to fit the bulk feed needs of customers to ensure a timely feed arrival. In addition to its fleet, Belstra contacts with a trucking service and offers customer pickup. The BMC Belstra Group Farms division provides farm care and genetic support to pig farms located in Newton, Jasper and Pulaski counties in Indiana and Kankakee County in Illinois.
