Do you want to start a poultry feed mill? If YES, here is a complete guide to starting a poultry feed mill business with NO money and no experience plus a sample poultry feed mill business plan template.
One of the best things that you could possibly do to yourself is to start a business that would give you good returns. The poultry feed mill business is one of such ventures. A poultry mill is a production facility where different poultry mashes are produced like layers mash, pre-layers mash, growers mash, broilers starter and finisher et al.
Poultry feed mill is known to be a profitable business that has evolved from small scale to a global industry in most countries where it is carried out.
Countries like United Kingdom, Brazil, Greece, Philippines, China, Japan, Thailand, Caribbean countries and even South American Countries have been producing poultry feeds on large scales for a long time. united states isn’t far from the trade as there are lots of people who are making huge fortune from running their own poultry feed mill.
This is a business that is open to aspiring entrepreneurs especially those that live around poultry farm communities or close to a farming community or poultry feed hub. All you need to get started is a well – positioned and government approved facility, steady supply of grains and of course, knowledge of running the business.
It is imperative to point out that this business can’t go out of fashion because of the role it plays in the poultry farming industry.
Depending on the scale you want to start, the startup capital for this type of business can be considered to be moderate. As a matter of fact, you can start your own poultry feed mill and then grow it big within a short period of time by re-investing your profits back to the business.
Before launching this type of business, it will do you well to carry out your market research, economic and cost analysis and of course feasibility studies. If you get things right before launching your poultry feed mill business, it will not take you long before you break even and start smiling to the bank. To sum up, before launching your poultry feed mill, ensure that you read this article and you will be well equipped.
Steps to Starting a Poultry Feed Mill Business
1. Understand the Industry
Poultry feed mill business falls under the Animal Food Production industry and businesses in this industry produce food for animals such as livestock and pets.
A poultry feed mill business is not a difficult business to start and it is not so capital intensive especially if you choose to start on a small scale within your neighborhood especially if you live in or around a poultry farm community. Producing the right poultry feed that people want to buy and having good distribution network are the secrets of running a poultry feed mill business.
The Animal Food Production Industry is indeed a large industry and pretty much active in a lot of countries. Statistics have it that in the United States of America alone, there are about 3,757 licensed and registered poultry feed mills responsible for employing about 52,814 people and the industry rakes in a whooping sum of $64 billion annually. The industry is projected to enjoy 0.3 percent annual growth within 2012 and 2017. The establishments in this industry that have a dominant market share in the United States of America are Cargill Inc., Mars Inc. and Nestle.
A recent report published by IBISWorld shows that the Animal Food Production industry is in the mature stage of its life cycle and it is characterized by industry products that have achieved market acceptance, limited opportunities for technological innovation and a stable number of establishments entering and exiting the industry.
The report also shows that the industry’s overall contribution to the overall economy, measured by industry value added (IVA), is projected to rise at an annualized rate of 4.4 percent over the 10 years to 2022. GDP is projected to grow at an annualized rate of 2.0 percent over that same period. The number of establishments is expected to rise over the 10 years to 2022 at an annualized rate of 2.6 percent.
The poultry feed mill business will continue to blossom because poultry birds will always eat in order to stay alive, grow and procreate. Despite the fact that the industry seems relatively saturated, there is still room big enough to accommodate aspiring entrepreneurs who intend opening their own poultry feed mill in the United States of America.
Some of the factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own poultry feed mill business are that the business is a thriving business that is easy to setup and manage with minimal startup capital and manpower.
One of the basic things you need to put in place to effectively run your poultry feed mill is to know the exact nutrient and the proportion needed for the various birds. The truth is that if you get the mixture wrong, it will affect the birds and they might have stunted growth, their egg production might drop and in some cases, it might lead to their death. That is why you must acquire some level of training and education to be able to effectively run your own poultry feed mill.
If you get some key factors wrong before starting your poultry feed mill business, then you are likely going to struggle to stay afloat. But over and above, poultry feed mill business is a thriving and profitable business especially if you are ready to take on the available market within the location where your business is located.
2. Conduct Market Research and Feasibility Studies
- Demographics and Psychographics
The people who patronize poultry feed mills cut across all owners of poultry farms in and around your location.
3. Decide Which Niche to Concentrate On
It is essential to state that there is no known niche area when it comes to poultry feed mill line of business because the business falls under the animal food production industry. Every player in this line of business usually produces a wide range of poultry feeds.
The Level of Competition in the Industry
The rivalries that occur in the Animal Food Production industry goes beyond competitions amongst poultry feed mills within your location; you will have to contend with other players in the animal food production industry that is also into milling poultry feed. So, it will be right to say the competition in the poultry feed mill line of business is relatively tough.
No matter the level of competition in an industry, if you brand and promote your products or business appropriately, you will always make progress in the industry. Just ensure you are into the production of a wide range of healthy and highly nutritional poultry feeds and you know how to reach out to your target market.
But over and above, there are several poultry feed mills scattered all around the United States. So, if you choose to start your own poultry feed mill business in the United States, you will definitely meet stiffer competitions amongst poultry feed mills within and outside your business location. Besides, there are larger poultry feed mills that determine the trends in the industry and you should be ready to compete with them for customers.
4. Know Your Major Competitors in the Industry
It is a fact that in every industry, there are always brands that perform better or are better regarded by customers and general public than others. Some of these brands are those that have been in the industry for a long time, while others are best known for how they conduct their businesses and the results they have achieved over the years.
These are some of the leading poultry feed mills in the United States of America and in the globe;
- Cargill Inc. – Cargill Animal Nutrition
- Star Milling Co.
- Mars Inc.
- Nestle
- Wenger Feeds
- Land O’Lakes Purina Feed
- Mid-America Feed Yard
- Purina Mills
- PBS Animal Health
- Hubbard Feeds
- Floradale Feed Mill Limited
- Animal Feeds & Needs US Feeds, LLC
- Feed Depot USA
- Hi-Pro Feeds
- Martindale Feed Mill Inc
- Kalmbach Feeds
- Lakeland Feed & Supply, Hamilton
- Kent Feeds
- Hallway Feeds
- Sacate Pellet Mills, Inc.
Economic Analysis
If you are on the way to launching a profitable business, then you need to ensure that you get your economic and cost analysis right and try as much as possible to adopt best practices in the industry you choose to build a business in.
Poultry feed mill business is not a Green business as you will come across several poultry feed mills or their products in livestock feed stores when you go shopping for poultry feeds. So, if you are plotting out your economic and cost analysis, you should carry out thorough market survey and costing of the required amount needed in renting or leasing a facility, building a standard poultry feed mill and the amount needed to get supplies of grains and nutrients and also the cost to successfully run the business.
5. Decide Whether to Buy a Franchise or Start from Scratch
If you are looking at a maiden poultry feed mill, you would have to start from the very scratch because you can hardly get the franchise of a poultry feed mill to buy, if you do, it will be way too expensive. Besides starting a poultry feed mill from the scratch is less stressful when compared to other similar businesses which usually requires detailed groundwork before launching the business.
Please note that most of the big and successful poultry feed mills around started from the scratch and they were able to build a solid business brand. It takes dedication, hard work and determination to achieve business success and of course you can build your own poultry feed mill brand to become a successful brand in the United States.
6. Know the Possible Threats and Challenges You Will Face
If you choose to start your own poultry feed mill business today, one of the major tests you are likely going to face is the presence of well – established poultry feed mills whose products can be found in livestock stores all across the United States of America. The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market.
Some other encounters that you are likely going to face is economic downturn; if the economy is in bad shape, businesses such as poultry feed mills and the likes usually struggle to maintain their old customers or even welcome new customers. unfavorable government policies can also hamper the growth of your poultry feed mill. There is nothing you can do as regards this threats and challenges other than to stay positive that things will work well for you.
7. Choose the Most Suitable Legal Entity (LLC, C Corp, S Corp)
When considering starting a poultry feed mill business, the legal entity you choose will go a long way to determine how big the business can grow; some poultry feed mill design their business for neighborhood market, some for city wide market, while others for national market.
You have the option of either selecting a general partnership, Limited Liability Company, or even a sole proprietorship for your poultry feed mill. Ordinarily, sole proprietorship should have been the ideal business structure for a small – scale poultry feed mill especially if you are just starting out with a moderate startup capital in a small neighborhood. But people prefer limited liability Company for obvious reasons.
8. Choose a Catchy Business Name
When it comes to selecting a name for your business, you should be inventive because whatever name you choose for your business will go a long way to generate an awareness of what the business represents. Usually it is the norm for people to follow the trend in the industry they intend operating from when naming their business.
If you are considering starting your own poultry feed mill business, here are some catchy names that you can choose from;
- Boris Uriel & Family® Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
- Poultry Kingdom™ Poultry Feed Mill, LLC
- Bird Fellows™ Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
- Grain Field® Poultry Feed Mill, LLC
- Lincoln Borrow & Sons® Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
- Texas County® Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
- Canfield Jemez © Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
- Capac Cape™ Poultry Feed Mill, LLC
- Bird Nation™ Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
- Colene Brownson® Poultry Feed Mill, Inc.
9. Discuss with an Agent to Know the Best Insurance Policies for You
In the United States and in most countries of the world, you can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from. So, it is important to create a budget for insurance and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your poultry feed mill business.
Here are some of the basic insurance covers that you should consider purchasing if you want to start your own poultry feed mill business in the United States of America;
- General insurance
- Health insurance
- Liability insurance
- Workers Compensation
- Overhead expense disability insurance
- Business owner’s policy group insurance
- Payment protection insurance
10. Protect your Intellectual Property With Trademark, Copyrights, Patents
If you are considering starting your own poultry feed mill business, usually you may not have any need to file for intellectual property protection/trademark. This is so because the nature of the business makes it possible for you to successful run it without having any cause to challenge anybody in court for illegally making use of your company’s intellectual properties.
11. Get the Necessary Professional Certification
When it comes to poultry feed mill business, you do not need to have any formal training or special certification before you can be allowed to start a poultry feed mill business. All you need is informal training that will expose you to the in and out of effectively running a poultry feed mill business.
On the other hand, if you come across any form of certification that can aid you to effectively run your poultry feed mill business, then by all means try and pursue such certification.
12. Get the Necessary Legal Documents You Need to Operate
The essence of having the necessary documentation in place before launching a business in the United States of America cannot be overemphasized. It is a fact that you cannot successfully run any business in the United States without the proper documentations. If you do, it won’t be too long before the long hand of the law catches up with you.
These are some of the basic legal documents that you are expected to have in place if you want to legally run your own poultry feed mill business in the United States of America;
- Certificate of Incorporation
- Business License
- Tax Payer’s ID/Tax Identification Number
- Business Plan
- Copy of license for the service support facility and/or a recent inspection report
- Employee Handbook
- Employment Agreement (offer letters)
- Operating Agreement for LLCs
- Insurance Policy
- Online Terms of Use
- Online Privacy Policy Document (basically for online payment portal)
- Company Bylaws
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
- Building License
13. Raise the Needed Startup Capital
Starting a poultry feed mill business can be cost effective particularly if you choose to start on a small scale. Securing a standard poultry feed mill is part of what will consume a large chunk of your startup capital, but if you choose to start the business on a large scale, you would need to go source for fund to finance the business because it is expensive to start a standard large – scale poultry feed mill business with over a dozen full-time employees under your payroll.
When it comes to financing a business, one of the first things you should consider is to write a good business plan. If you have a good and workable business plan document in place, you may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business.
Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for startup capital for your poultry feed mill business;
- Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
- Raising money from investors and business partners
- Selling shares to interested investors
- Applying for Loan from your Bank
- Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
- Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends
14. Choose a Suitable Location for your Business
When it comes to choosing a location for your poultry feed mill, the rule of thumb is that you should be guided by zoning and of course the demand for such products and easy access to wholesale purchasing of a wide range of grains and nutrients and packaging materials from different manufacturing brands.
Depending on the scale that you are looking to start on, you may also consider starting from the comfort of your home. It cannot be overemphasized that the location you chose to open your poultry feed mill business is key to the success of the business, hence entrepreneurs are willing to rent or lease a facility in a visible location; a location where the demography consists of poultry farmers
Most importantly, before choosing a location for your poultry feed mill, ensure that you first conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey. The possibility of you coming across similar business that just closed shop in the location you want to open yours can’t be ruled out.
These are some of the key factors that you should consider before choosing a location for your poultry feed mill;
- The demography of the location
- The demand for poultry feeds in the location
- The number of poultry farms in the location
- Accessibility of the location
- The number of livestock feed stores in the location
- The local laws and regulations in the community
- Traffic, parking and security
15. Hire Employees for your Technical and Manpower Needs
On the average, there are no special technology or equipment needed to run this type of business except for poultry feed equipment such as grinders, blenders and mixers, pelleters, steam boiler, scales, sifters, bag sewers, packaging and other safety gears that can be found in a poultry feed mill. So also, you will definitely need computers, internet facility, telephone, fax machine and office furniture amongst others and all these can be gotten as fairly used.
As regards leasing or outright purchase of a production facility, the choice is dependent on your financial standing, but the truth is that to be on the safe side, it is advisable to start off with a short term rent/lease while test running the business in the location. If things work out as planned, then you go on a long – term lease or outright purchase of the property but if not, then move on and source for other ideal location/facility for such business.
When it comes to hiring employees for a standard poultry feed mill business, you should make plans to hire a competent Chief Executive Officer (you can occupy this role), Admin and Human Resources Manager, Merchandize Manager, Mill/Production Manager, Machine Operators, Sales and Marketing Offices, Truck Drivers, Accounting Clerk and Cleaners. On the average, you will need a minimum of 5 to 10 key staff members to run a small scale but standard poultry feed mill business.
The Service Delivery Process of the Business
The business services process involved in poultry feed mill business start with coming up a winning formula and purchasing the raw materials you need to produce high – nutritious poultry feed. These are some of the ingredients you would need to produce a good poultry feed; maize, oyster shells, soybean, wheat offal, minerals, common salt, corn, wheat, and amongst others.
The ingredients are sorted out, mixed with the right proportion and then grinded with a grinding machine or mashed to achieve the desired texture that will make it easier for the birds to eat and digest. You would have to engage your animal nutritionist and quality control officers at every stage so as to manufacture healthy and nutritious feeds for different species of poultry birds.
When you are done with grinding or meshing the ingredient, the next step is to package/baggage your poultry feed and get them set for distribution. It is always best to follow the standards of most successful products out there. As a matter of fact, one of the things that will give you an edge in the market place is your packaging and branding, so ensure that you pay attention to your packaging.
The composition of your poultry feed must be clearly stated in every pack and it must be well labeled. By doing this, your packaging will become so attractive whenever a person comes across your product in the market for the first time.
16. Write a Marketing Plan Packed with ideas & Strategies
You would have to develop a unique marketing strategy as a newbie in the poultry feed business if indeed you want to make good returns on your investment. The probability of competing with other poultry feed producers cannot be ruled out especially if you are operating your business in an area notable for hosting loads of poultry farmers.
As part of what you need to do to win your own share of the existing market in your area, you would have to come up with a nice packaging concept for your poultry feed; you can set the pace for others to follow. People and organizations will patronize poultry feeds from you if they know that they are going to get the best and of course value for their money.
Your marketing strategy will center on quality, pricing and above all excellent customer service. You should ensure that whenever your customers visit your poultry feed mill, they should be rest assured that they will get quality products and excellent service. The truth is that if you are able to put the above stated in place, you won’t struggle to retain your old customers and at the same time win over new customers.
Businesses these days are aware of the power of the internet, which is why they will do all they can to maximize the internet to market their services or products. In other words, a larger percentage of your marketing effort will be directed to internet users; your website will become your number one marketing tool.
These are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can adopt for your poultry feed mill business;
- Introduce your poultry feed mill by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to livestock feed stores, poultry farms, and owners of free range chicken farms et al within and outside the neighborhood where your poultry feed mill is located
- Advertise on the internet on blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to get your message across
- Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
- Directly market your products
- Engage in roadshows in targeted communities from time to time to sell your products
- Join local poultry feed mill associations for industry trends and tips
- Provide discount days for your customers
- Advertise your business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
- List your business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
- Encourage the use of Word of mouth marketing (referrals)
17. Develop Strategies to Boost Brand Awareness and Create a Corporate Identity
If you are in business and you are not conscious about boosting you brand awareness and communicating your corporate identity, then you should be ready to take on whatever the society portray your business to be.
If your intention of starting a poultry feed mill business is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand by opening chains of distribution networks, then you must be ready to spend money on promotion and advertisement of your brand.
No matter the industry you belong to, the truth is that the market is dynamic and it requires consistent brand awareness and boosting cum promotion to continue to appeal to your target market. Here are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create a corporate identity for your poultry feed mill;
- Place adverts on both print (newspapers and pets and livestock farming magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community based events
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote your products
- Install your billboards in strategic locations all around your city or state
- Engage in roadshows from time to time in targeted neighborhoods to create awareness of your poultry feed mill
- Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas
- Contact livestock feed stores and poultry farms in the neighborhood where your poultry feed mill is located informing them about your business and the products you retail
- List your poultry feed mill in local directories/yellow pages
- Advertise your poultry feed mill in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site
- Position your Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where your poultry feed mill is located.
- Ensure that all your staff members wear your branded shirts and all your vehicles and trucks/vans are well branded with your company logo