By Whitney Baxter
Delivery of bulk feed produced at the Iowa State University Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex to Iowa State’s animal science farms is now possible, thanks to a new high-tech feed trailer.
On lease from KT Pacer, a global, bulk feed transportation equipment manufacturer based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the 26-foot-long trailer has been hauling ground corn from the Feed Mill to the Iowa State Dairy Farm. Hauling feed to the poultry, turkey and swine farms is also on the docket. The trailer is being pulled by an existing semi tractor owned by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“We’re excited to partner with Iowa State and bring the latest feed trailer technology to the university for faculty, staff and students to experience using,” said Jay Sarver, senior vice president of sales with KT Pacer. “It also allows us to learn what Iowa State is seeing that we can implement into our trailers to better fit the needs of Iowa State and our other customers.”
Technology features on the trailer promote safety and biosecurity as it travels between the Feed Mill and animal science farms. These include a spraying system to disinfect the tires, augers and gates that can be controlled with a remote by the driver, and a telematics system that documents where all the feed travels in the event of a feed safety issue. Additionally, KT Pacer techs in Cedar Rapids can connect to the trailer remotely to diagnose and resolve any functionality problems.
“This represents a fundamental step in the college’s partnership with industry and moves forward the college’s efforts to train the next generation of thinkers and doers in feed technology,” said Daniel J. Robison, endowed dean’s chair in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Dirk Maier, director of the Complex, said corn grown on Iowa State-owned farms is brought to the Feed Mill during harvest and processed into a master mix before being delivered to the dairy farm. Being able to supply Iowa State’s teaching and research farms with feed produced at the Feed Mill has always been one of the goals for the facility, which opened in the fall of 2023.
“Growing, processing and delivering our own bulk feed is a time and cost-savings measure for the animal science department and the college,” Maier said.
“The way it is designed and individualized to meet the ration requirements of research studies was a missing link that this trailer fills,” added Jason Ross, chair of the Department of Animal Science. “It really creates a closed-loop system by connecting crop production and animal production at Iowa State.”
Rusty Burgett, director of animal science farms, said the feed trailer allows students to see the entire production process, from grain grown on the research farms and milled at the Feed Mill to it being fed to animals on the farms, which are then processed and sold by the Meats Lab on campus.
“That’s something unique to Iowa State,” Burgett said.
Source : iastate.edu