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Feed manufacturers buy ingredients — grains, oilseed meals, by-products, vitamins, minerals, additives — and turn them into compound feeds formulated for a specific species and life stage. They sit between the ingredient market and the livestock producer, and most of the industry's quality, traceability and biosecurity work happens at the mill.
Global compound feed production reached an estimated 1.44 billion metric tonnes in 2025, up 2.9% year on year, according to the Alltech 2026 Agri-Food Outlook (38,837 mills surveyed across 142 countries). China, the United States and Brazil account for roughly 48% of all global tonnage between them. North American output dipped 0.7% in 2025 as the beef herd contracted, while broiler and dairy feed continued to grow.
A typical commercial mill operates one or more feed lines (mash, pelleted, extruded), an ingredient receiving and storage area, a batching system tied to a formulation database, and conditioning, pelleting and cooling equipment. Mills that produce feeds for multiple species — and especially mills that produce both medicated and non-medicated feeds — run carry-over control and flushing routines to prevent cross-contamination.
Match the mill to the species and life stage. A general livestock mill producing beef, dairy and equine rations is not the same operation as a specialised broiler-starter mill or a pet food extruder. Ask which species the mill formulates for routinely, who their nutritionist is, and what proportion of output is sold as branded feed versus toll milled to your specification.
Check certifications before price. FSSC 22000, FAMI-QS, ISO 22000 and HACCP are the common feed-safety frameworks. AAFCO label compliance is the baseline in the US; FDA registration and current Good Manufacturing Practice under 21 CFR 507 apply. UK and EU mills work to EU Regulation 183/2005 and typically hold UFAS, FEMAS or GMP+ certification.
Verify traceability and ingredient sourcing. The mill should be able to tell you, for any batch you receive, where the corn, soybean meal, premix and any additive originated, and produce mycotoxin and proximate analysis on request. Mills that decline are not credible suppliers.
Pellet quality is a useful proxy for process control. Pellet durability index (PDI), fines percentage on receipt, and water stability all sit on the mill's QC sheet. A mill that has these numbers in hand without preparation is running a tighter operation than one that doesn't.
Confirm capacity and delivery model. Minimum order quantity, lead time, and whether the mill delivers bulk by tanker, packs into 25 kg bags, or both. For producers far from the mill, freight can dominate the delivered price.