Ralco announced today that its recently remodeled mill in Marshall, MN will only manufacture non-medicated products. The company will continue to support producers that require medicated feed through another Ralco manufacturing facility.
The 44-year-old company was founded on a principle of feeding livestock as naturally as possible, while always understanding the important role medications and antibiotics play in treating sick animals. The non-medicated facility allows Ralco to have a balanced manufacturing approach by providing customers with the option to receive products from the non-medicated facility or purchase medicated feed from another Ralco mill.
“One of the main reasons for this decision is that we have made significant investments in our natural technologies and we stand behind those technologies,” said vice president of operations Dennis Conlon. “We also made a significant investment when we upgraded our mill in Marshall, and we wanted to be able to provide our customers with natural technologies that were manufactured in a state-of-the-art facility. With this approach Ralco customers receive premium non-medicated and medicated products manufactured to the highest standards.”
In 2015 Ralco renovated its manufacturing plant in Marshall, which included a state-of-the-art mixing system, packaging system and stacking system. The upgrade increased efficiency and precision well beyond industry standards. View a video by clicking here.
Increased regulation and consumer perceptions have increased the demand for meat and dairy products produced without antibiotics. Ralco president Brian Knochenmus said the decision to have a strictly drug-free facility was necessary to keep pace with customer and consumer demand.
“With the changing consumer attitudes concerning antibiotics we needed to provide many of our customers with options. This plant provides customers that produce antibiotic-free protein with the opportunity to purchase products from a truly non-medicated facility, while we continue to provide medicated products to customers that require them. Options are what our customers are demanding and this facility meets that need,” Knochenmus said.
About Ralco
Ralco is a third-generation family owned multinational company with distribution in more than 20 countries. A leading global provider of livestock nutrition, animal health products and crop enhancement products; Ralco supports large segments of the livestock, poultry, aquaculture and crop industries. Learn more at https://www.ralcoagriculture.com/.