When Duncan Farms, a Scottish family farming business dedicated to providing traceable, sustainable eggs for its customers across the UK, set out to improve the efficiency of its poultry feed preparation process, it turned to McArthur BDC.
Farming approximately 7,000 acres of arable crops including wheat and barley for poultry feed, barley for the malting market, alongside oats for human consumption and oilseed rape for general sale, Duncan Farms was operating a labour-intensive feed preparation process that required significant movement of raw materials between sites.
“We had long recognised some inefficiencies in our feed mixing operations, and a re-structure of one of our poultry sites was the opportunity to do something about it,” said Duncan Gray.
Having heard about McArthur BDC through word-of-mouth recommendations, Duncan Farms, which packs over five million eggs each week from its own hens and contract producers, approached the McArthur BDC team to explore how the farm’s existing process could be upgraded.
Whilst Duncan Farms had already developed an initial concept and design of the system it was looking for, Duncan Farms recognised the value of drawing on McArthur BDC’s proven grain handling experience to refine initial ideas to deliver a fully operational system.
“We did look at several other suppliers, but from the outset we liked McArthur BDC’s practical, problem-solving approach,” said Duncan. “The team quickly understood the challenges we were facing and worked with us to develop a system that would deliver the efficiencies we needed.”
At the heart of the new feed processing and storage plant are 12 x 60-degree hopper bottom silos, each with a capacity of 65cu m. All bins can be filled from any of the three installed Skandia Elevator intakes.
An above-ground intake, a Skandia 120tph H-Line trench conveyor, one of 13 installed conveyors, is located in the milling mixing shed and is primarily used for ‘bought-in’ feed ingredients such as sunflower pellets and soya meal delivered to site in articulated lorries. From the intake, the bought-in ingredients are conveyed to a Skandia 120t/hr elevator, then onto the conveying system that can feed all 12 bins.
The adjacent home-grown wheat and barley stores, with a total capacity of 17,000t, each house a Skandia 60t/hr H-Line intake conveyor. These intakes convey the wheat and barley to another conveyor which transports the grain across the yard to the milling mixing shed and the elevator. The grain is then distributed through the conveyor system that all three intakes feed into any one of the 12 hopper-bottom silos.
The entire system is controlled via a 21” PLC touchscreen, allowing the operator to select the route feed ingredients are to take, easily managing the feed processing. Remote access functionality enables monitoring and control from a laptop or mobile device, providing additional flexibility and oversight.
Each hopper bottom silo is fitted with high, mid and low-level sensors to automate filling and emptying, while vibratory motors on the bottom of each ensure efficient clean-out of bins.
Installation of the new feed processing system was completed smoothly. ECS Electrical Ltd. was instrumental in ensuring the electrical components were operational and that the project could be completed on time.
“The difference the new system has made is significant,” said Duncan. “We’ve reduced labour requirements, saved time and improved overall efficiency across the operation.”
Designed with future expansion in mind, the new feed processing and storage system provides Duncan Farms with a scalable solution that can adapt as the business continues to grow.
“Working with McArthur BDC has been a very positive experience,” he concludes. “Their grain handling expertise and ability to come up with practical, well-thought-out solutions really stood out. They delivered a professional service from start to finish, and we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.”