Quality control is essential for feed manufacturers striving to ensure ingredients and finished products meet expectations and deliver consistent performance. Good specification design, continuous feedback, and effective formulation software all play critical roles in minimizing risks—from poor performance and animal harm to reputational damage and lost profitability.These topics were explored during the exclusive webinar “Closing the Compliance Gap: Smarter Tools for Safer Feed,” sponsored by Datacor and presented by Feed Strategy and Feed & Grain. The session highlighted how modern formulation tools can deliver measurable quality improvements, increase responsiveness to market changes, and reduce the likelihood of costly errors.
Moderated by Elise Schafer, editor of Feed & Grain, the webinar featured expert insights from Ian Mealey, product marketing director for formulation at Datacor, who emphasized the value of strong quality programs and proven feed software.
If something goes wrong in feed production, the consequences are immediate and significant. Poor quality or incorrectly formulated products can reduce performance at the farm and, in extreme cases, cause harm to animals. These issues can also trigger substantial costs, including the recovery and disposal of product, remediation at the production site, and compensation to customers.
Typically, quality control programs address different aspects of feed production. These include:
Formulation also plays a central role. Since feed represents the largest cost in any animal production system, formulation tools help manufacturers design products that meet required quality in the most cost-effective way and maintain that balance as circumstances change. Using formulation tools, manufacturers determine which ingredients to use, how each product uses them, the required quantities, and the nutritional value they provide.
Achieving consistent quality is challenging because of variability in ingredient costs, quality, supply, and production processes. Additional considerations include:
Reformulation is an ongoing process driven by updates to ingredient analyses, costs, and availability. A formula created just a month earlier may change significantly once the latest ingredient information is entered into the formulation system. This may require a complete review or a reformulation, especially when accommodating situations such as raw material shortages.
However, every step introduces potential risks, including:
Here are several strategies that can help minimize or eliminate these risks and create a safer and more efficient formulation process.
Specifications typically contain nutrient minimums and maximums and ingredient usage limits. They can also include production-related factors that must be considered. A well-designed specification ensures that formulas meet all requirements and can be manufactured with minimal risk of error.
Input from production teams about manufacturing performance and from farms about product performance helps improve specifications, ingredient data, and formulation decisions.
Manual data entry increases the likelihood of mistakes. Integrations between business systems help ensure data is transferred quickly and accurately. This improves visibility into the impact of changes and strengthens decision-making.
Optimization tools help ensure that specification design uses ingredient information correctly. This supports accurate, cost-effective formulations that maintain quality.
Formulators often review hundreds of formulas across multiple production sites and must consider many variables. Mistakes can occur, and their impacts can range from manufacturing inefficiencies to decreased intake or performance at the farm.
Common examples include:
Datacor provides trusted formulation software designed to verify data and ensure formulas are accurate. Automated checks make it easier to confirm that formulas meet specifications, legal requirements, nutritional targets, and production constraints.
Datacor is preparing to launch Ara Comply, a new module in the Ara® Formulation platform that simplifies and strengthens compliance. Users can create rules for ingredients and nutrients, including permitted tolerances, absolute limits, and production parameters. These rules are applied during an automated audit of formulas that highlight any errors before those formulas reach production. Formulas which pass these checks are automatically approved, whilst those failing must be corrected before proceeding. All results are stored for future reference.
Together, these tools support a holistic approach to formulation quality. Traditional manual review processes often involve multiple stakeholders, are time consuming, and can introduce inconsistencies. Technology improves efficiency, accuracy, and responsiveness.
“These tools provide measurable benefits through more accurate formulas and ingredient purchasing plans. They help manufacturers respond to changing circumstances while maintaining quality. They reduce risk of error and improve quality and compliance.”
If you missed the webinar, you can access it for free here. Want to dive deeper into our formulation solutions? Visit our product page to learn more.
Below are some of the key takeaways from the session: