Should you produce your own poultry feed?

What to consider before investing in on-farm feed production

Feed is one of the most important inputs in poultry production. It has a major influence on production costs, feed efficiency, growth, egg production, bird health and the overall performance of the flock.

For many poultry producers, the question is therefore not simply whether they can produce their own feed, but whether doing so makes technical and economic sense for their particular farm.

Producing feed on the farm can provide greater control over raw materials, feed formulation, grinding, dosing and mixing. It can also make it easier to use suitable home-grown crops and adapt diets to different groups of birds.

But on-farm feed production also requires investment, storage capacity, technical knowledge, quality control and daily management.

So, when does producing your own poultry feed make sense – and what should you consider before investing in a feed mill?

Feed is a major part of poultry production costs

Feed is generally one of the largest variable costs in poultry production. This means that relatively small differences in feed cost or feed efficiency can have a significant effect on the economics of a poultry operation.

Feed conversion is particularly important in meat production, where the amount of feed required to produce a given amount of meat directly affects production efficiency.

However, the price of purchased feed alone should not determine whether producing feed yourself is worthwhile.

A proper assessment should include:

• Cost and availability of raw materials
• Current price of purchased compound feed
• Transport and handling costs
• Expected annual feed production
• Investment in the feed mill and storage
• Energy consumption
• Labour and maintenance
• Feed losses
• Quality control and analysis
• Financing and depreciation

The relevant comparison is therefore the total cost of producing feed on the farm versus the total cost of purchasing it.

Feed efficiency should also be considered. A lower feed price is not necessarily an economic advantage if the resulting diet leads to poorer feed conversion, growth, egg production or flock performance.

What do you gain by producing your own poultry feed?

The main advantage of on-farm feed production is not necessarily that the feed will automatically be cheaper.

It is control.

When feed is produced on the farm, the producer controls the choice of raw materials, formulation, grinding, dosing and mixing processes.

This can make it easier to adapt diets to the nutritional requirements of different groups of birds and to respond to changes in raw material availability and price.

According to FAO, poultry diets need to provide an appropriate supply of energy, protein, essential amino acids, minerals, vitamins and water. FAO also highlights the importance of understanding both nutrient requirements and the availability of nutrients from different feed ingredients when formulating diets.

With your own feed production, these decisions become part of the farm's own production strategy rather than being entirely dependent on a fixed commercial feed product.

Better use of home-grown raw materials

Many poultry producers grow cereals or other crops that can potentially be used as feed ingredients.

On-farm feed production can provide an opportunity to use suitable home-grown raw materials directly in the feed chain.

Instead of selling grain and purchasing compound feed, the producer can potentially use the grain as part of the farm's own feed strategy.

But home-grown does not automatically mean suitable.

Raw materials need to be assessed according to their nutritional value, availability, quality and cost. FAO highlights the importance of determining the availability of nutrients in feed ingredients when formulating poultry diets.

The nutritional value of raw materials can vary considerably. Moisture content, storage conditions, contamination and changes in nutrient composition can all affect their value as feed ingredients.

This means that the value of home-grown grain depends not only on its market price, but also on its nutritional quality and how effectively it can be incorporated into the feed formulation.

Feed quality starts with the raw materials

Producing your own feed does not eliminate feed-quality risks. It means that the producer becomes responsible for managing them.

Storage conditions, moisture, contamination and deterioration can all affect feed ingredients.

Mycotoxins are one example. These naturally occurring toxins are produced by certain fungi and can enter the feed chain through contaminated crops. EFSA identifies mycotoxins including aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and Fusarium toxins as important contaminants in food and feed.

For poultry producers, this makes raw material inspection, correct storage and quality monitoring important parts of an on-farm feed strategy.

Producing your own feed gives you greater control over these processes – but also greater responsibility.

Grinding, dosing and mixing matter

A feed mill is more than a machine for grinding grain.

The production process normally involves several steps:

1. Receiving and storing raw materials
2. Cleaning where required
3. Grinding
4. Dosing
5. Mixing
6. Adding liquids or micro-ingredients where required
7. Storing and handling finished feed

Each step can affect the final feed.

Particle size is an important consideration in poultry feed because grinding affects the physical characteristics of the finished feed and can influence feed intake and feed utilisation.

The appropriate particle size depends on the bird type, age, feed form and production system. The objective is therefore not simply to grind as finely as possible, but to achieve a particle size that supports the nutritional and production objectives of the diet while allowing efficient feed handling.

Dosing accuracy and mixing quality are equally important. The finished feed needs to contain the intended proportions of the different ingredients and nutrients.

This becomes particularly relevant when producing several diets for different bird ages or production stages.

For producers mixing their own feed, quality control therefore needs to cover the entire process – from raw material reception and storage to grinding, dosing, mixing and finished feed.

Different birds require different feed

A poultry farm rarely has one single nutritional requirement.

Broilers, layers and breeding birds have different nutritional needs. Requirements also change as birds move through different stages of production.

This means that an on-farm feed mill can be particularly useful where the producer needs to manufacture several formulations.

Instead of relying entirely on a limited number of standard feed products, the producer can formulate diets according to:

• Bird type
• Age and production stage
• Nutritional requirements
• Available raw materials
• Nutritional quality of ingredients
• Current raw material prices
• Production objectives

FAO describes poultry nutrition as a process of matching nutrient requirements with the nutrients supplied by available feed ingredients and highlights least-cost formulation as an important principle in poultry nutrition.

For a farm producing several feed types, this flexibility can be an important advantage.

Does producing your own poultry feed reduce costs?

It can – but there is no universal answer.

The economic benefit depends on the individual farm.

A poultry operation with high and relatively stable feed consumption may have better conditions for spreading the fixed costs of a feed mill over a large volume of feed.

The calculation becomes particularly interesting when the farm has access to competitive raw materials, including suitable home-grown grain.

However, the calculation should include the complete cost of feed production rather than simply comparing the price of grain with the price of purchased feed.

A realistic calculation should include:

Raw materials + energy + labour + maintenance + storage + depreciation + financing + quality control + losses = cost of home-produced feed

The calculation should also consider the nutritional value and expected feeding performance of the resulting feed.

Only then can the producer determine whether the investment provides a genuine economic advantage.

The investment requires more than a feed mill

Producing your own feed also changes the way the farm operates.

The producer becomes responsible for:

• Purchasing and receiving raw materials
• Storage capacity and conditions
• Feed formulation
• Quality control and analysis
• Production planning
• Equipment maintenance
• Traceability
• Feed safety
• Stock management

This responsibility is also reflected in feed-safety requirements. In the EU, feed hygiene rules apply throughout the feed chain, including primary production. Feed-business operators must meet requirements concerning hygiene, registration or approval, and appropriate management of feed safety.

The European Commission also highlights safe storage and transport, hygiene, documentation and traceability as important elements of feed safety.

FAO's guidance on good practices for the feed sector specifically covers on-farm feed mixers and producers, underlining that feed safety and quality management are relevant not only to commercial feed manufacturers but also to on-farm production.

This is an important point: producing your own feed is not simply a matter of buying a grinder and mixer. It means taking responsibility for another part of the production chain.

When does on-farm poultry feed production make sense?

There is no single farm size at which producing your own feed suddenly becomes profitable.

The decision depends on a combination of factors.

Own feed production may be worth considering when:

• You have a relatively high and stable feed requirement
• You have access to suitable raw materials at competitive prices
• You grow part of your own feed ingredients
• You want greater control over feed formulations
• You need several feed formulations
• Transport costs for purchased feed are significant
• You want greater control over feed quality and traceability
• You have sufficient storage capacity
• You have the management resources to operate a feed production system

It may be less attractive when:

• Feed consumption is relatively low
• Raw materials are expensive or difficult to source
• Storage capacity is limited
• There is insufficient technical or management capacity
• The investment cannot be spread over sufficient feed volume
• Quality control and feed safety cannot be managed properly

The important point is that farm size alone does not determine whether on-farm feed production makes sense. Feed volume, raw material prices, logistics, investment cost and management capacity all need to be considered together.

A feed mill should be designed around the farm

If the decision is to produce feed on the farm, the next question is how the system should be designed.

The feed mill should be based on the actual production requirements rather than on a standard plant size.

Important questions include:

• How much feed is required per year?
• How many different feed formulations are needed?
• Which raw materials will be used?
• How much storage capacity is required?
• Which ingredients need grinding?
• Is pelleting part of the feed strategy?
• How much flexibility is required between batches?
• What level of automation is appropriate?
• Is future expansion expected?

The answers determine the required capacity, storage, grinding, dosing, mixing and automation.

This is also where scalability becomes important. A feed mill designed around current production while allowing for future expansion can give the farm greater flexibility as production develops.

Producing your own feed is a strategic decision

For a poultry producer, investing in a feed mill should not be viewed simply as buying equipment.

It is a decision to take responsibility for an additional part of the production chain.

The potential advantages are greater control, flexibility, better use of suitable raw materials and the ability to formulate diets around the actual needs of the flock.

But these benefits depend on good feed formulation, reliable equipment, accurate dosing and mixing, appropriate grinding, quality control and competent management.

The most important question is therefore not:

“Can we produce feed ourselves?”

but rather:

“Can we produce the right feed, at the right quality and at a competitive total cost?”

If the answer is yes, on-farm feed production can become an important part of an efficient, flexible and resilient poultry production system.

With SKIOLD feed mills, you gain a reliable, proven solution based on decades of experience in feed technology and poultry production.

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Sources and further reading

FAO – Nutrition and feeding
https://www.fao.org/poultry-production-products/production/nutrition-and-feeding/en/

FAO – Good practices for the feed sector
https://www.fao.org/family-farming/detail/en/c/1651201/

European Commission – Feed hygiene
https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/animal-feed/feed-hygiene_en

European Commission – Feed safety
https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/campaign-2026/feed-safety_en

EFSA – Mycotoxins
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/mycotoxins