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October 5, 2001
Buffalo home of state-of-the-art feed supplement plant
By Mike Barnett
Editor
The manufacturer of the most popular low moisture block supplement in the United States now has a home in Texas and with its added capacity, is looking to expand markets in Mexico and the Southern United States.
Manufacturer of the highly successful Crystalyx® brand low moisture block and other popular private label brands, Ridley Block Operations, a part of Ridley, Inc., has opened a state-of-the art manufacturing facility in the Southeast Texas town of Buffalo.
"We ship product not only in Texas but to Oklahoma, New Mexico, all the way up into the Carolinas, Florida, Alabama and then into Mexico as well," says Clint Counsellor, plant operations manager. "It's a very large service area."
With the first load of feed shipped in December, 1999, the plant is the most automated low moisture block plant in the United States.
"It is totally automated from receiving to the manufacturing process," Counsellor says, noting that Ridley Block Operations has three other plants in the U.S. "It's a custom program. It's our program."
The plant operations manager notes that Buffalo was chosen over 50 other potential sites in Texas because it is close to Houston (molasses is a primary ingredient of low moisture blocks and the Bayou City is a primary port for cane molasses), it has a dependable labor force and it has the infrastructure and services to support the operation.
Plus, Buffalo is located in the heart of some of the prime cattle counties in the Lone Star State.
"It's (the plant) worked out wonderful," says Account Manager Lee Pritchard. "The counties within a 100 to 200 mile radius are some of the highest producing cow/calf counties in the state of Texas. And Texas is the number one cow/calf state in the Union. We needed a plant in Texas.
According to Counsellor, a low moisture block is a feed supplement that consists of cooked molasses and other liquid ingredients that are then blended with protein meals, vitamins and minerals.
"It's highly palatable. It's weather proof. And it's a low cost per head per day supplement," Counsellor says. "More livestock come to this product. They want to eat it because it tastes good."
The hardness of the block controls intake. The block softens by pulling moisture from the air. A cow will lick the product that's been exposed to the atmosphere. Once the soft product is licked away, the cow will leave. As the product again softens, another cow feeds. This process controls intake to approximately ½ to 1 pound per head, per day.
Among the advantages of low moisture blocks, according to Pritchard and Counsellor:
•They're highly palatable.
•They're weatherproof.
•They're a highly concentrated, nutrient dense product in a self-contained feeder (50, 125, 200 and 250 lb. containers).
•They contain only 2 to 5 percent moisture (compared to some chemically hardened or poured-tub products that contain 20 to 30 percent moisture).
•Cattlemen normally see consistent intake across the whole herd.
Perhaps one of the biggest selling points for low moisture blocks is that they are very competitive, cost-wise, with other feed supplements.
"On a cost per head basis, we can quickly show the producer that we're very competitive and tend to beat the competition," Counsellor says. "And if we don't beat the competition, once you start looking at the labor cost, fuel cost and the inconvenience...in addition to the consistent intake of our supplement...well then it looks even more advantageous."
Quality control
One other advantage with Crystalyx and other private labels manufactured by Ridley is the quality and care that go into the product. All the systems in the plant are completely automated, with further controls in the automated system to prevent cross-contamination. Only ingredients from approved suppliers are used. And the Buffalo plant has never handled ruminant meat and bone meal. Cattlemen can find confidence in that, Counsellor says, with the recent scares in Europe over BSE.
"Our only animal protein in this facility is hydrolyzed feather meal," Counsellor says. "We use hydrolyzed vegetable oil as our oil source changing from choice white grease. Our consumers have a lot of questions right now because of the heightened awareness of BSE. We have chosen to take the initiative on this and eliminate any confusion that our producers may have when considering what supplements to use."
Quality control extends throughout the manufacturing process. All Ridley Block Operations plants are all ISO 9001 and FCI Level 1 certified. Certification by a third party means proper quality assurance guidelines are being followed and ingredient handling procedures are in place and being utilized.
The future
Both Counsellor and Pritchard see a bright future for low moisture block supplements in Texas. Counsellor maintains a majority of producers have times in the feeding year when supplements would help their operations. And as these producers become familiar with the cost effectiveness of supplementation, he says the Buffalo plant is in a position to grow with the additional demand.
Producer education, according to Pritchard, is the key. Support material is offered to customers. Trials and research are being conducted at major universities. Dealer and producer meetings are being held around the state.
Counsellor said the feed manufacturing facility was built with added capacity to meet the demand.
"We're seeing tremendous growth of low moisture blocks because they work," he says. "We're seeing tremendous growth because they're cost effective. We're seeing tremendous growth because they save labor and time. All of that's important to today's rancher."
(Editor's Note: Crystalyx® is distributed through dealer networks including Allied Feeds in Cuero and San Antonio and Hi-Pro Feeds in West Texas)
