25/10/13: Cargill's new horse feed mill; African rice production; The Indiana grain industry

Food and agricultural producer Cargill has opened a new 140,000-ton capacity feed manufacturing facility in Louisiana, USA. The new mill will produce feed for the pet food, aquaculture, equine, beef, poultry, dairy, and wild game industries.

The facility has 53,000 square feet of warehouse space. Its tower is 231 feet tall, with 65 bins for grain, bulk ingredients, and finished feed. There are also six large storage bins outside of the tower. Two separate extruders allow the mill to produce pet food and specialty aqua feeds at the same time.

Further information available here.

The Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé was the setting for  one of the largest gatherings of rice industry professionals, policy makers and farmer representatives at the the 3rd Africa Rice Congress, which drew to a close yesterday.

During the gathering, more than 650 delegates from 60 countries, including 35 African nations called for help from the FAO to 'stimulate national, regional and global partnerships to develop Africa's rice sector'.

Africa is expected to produce 27.2 million tonnes of rice this year, up by 2 percent over last year.

Read the full FAO article.

According to Purdue University, USA the mid-western state of Indiana has nearly 1.3 billion bushels of grain storage capacity. Estimates suggest however, that about 30 percent was unused last year.

In this video, Chris Hurt, agricultural economist, Purdue University explains how this year's crops are set to produce more business following last year's drought.

Visit the Purdue University website here.