Dedicated to Quality

Nov 02, 2023


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HACCP Certified

At Premier Cooperative, we have always viewed safety and compliance as a priority, both from an employee work environment standpoint, as well as ensuring that the products we bring to your farm are free of contamination and of the mix consistency and quality that you have come to expect. With ever increasing expectations and new regulations from the Food Safety Modernization Act, the VFD Law, and FDA inspections, about 5 years ago Premier Cooperative took the next step to make sure that we are doing all we can in  regards to safety and compliance.  

The Premier Cooperative feed manufacturing locations in Mineral Point and Westby are part of a  small and elite group of feed locations that have received a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) certification. HACCP is a management system in which food and feed safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement and handling, to manufacturing, distribution and consumption of the finished product.

Obtaining the certification was not a small undertaking and the system continues to be evaluated annually. Each year the HACCP committee reviews any issues from the previous year and makes recommendations on any changes or additions to current practices that need to be made as facilities make changes or expand. Many records are kept and reviewed to ensure that the proposed practices are being completed.  Monthly training is done at both the Mineral Point and Westby locations to train employees so all know what is expected of them. 

Annually the team looks at all areas of the feed mill and conducts a risk assessment. The assessment addresses potential risks throughout the flow of products through the mill. Starting with before we receive ingredients, then receiving the ingredients, to the ingredients going through the mill and manufacturing, and finishing up with storage and delivery. It also addressed our employee training, our quality control and testing procedures, the record keeping system to verify traceability and to be able to recall product if that was ever needed.  The assessment also looks at cleaning procedures, facility security, biosecurity, pest management and many other areas. Biosecurity continues to be an area of top priority at Premier and some changes have been made over the past few years to help give our customers confidence that the feed we deliver will be free of any physical contamination and help reduce the potential for disease transmission.

After the team finishes its work, there  is a 3rd party audit and we have continued to pass our certification with very high marks. All of this is done to give you the confidence in knowing that Premier is committed to the safety of our employees and committed to delivering the highest quality products to your farm.  The Mineral Point and Westby locations will continue to work on their HAACP certifications, knowing  that minimizing animal stress by delivering consistent feed is one piece of the puzzle that can help you be more profitable.

Peter Day

Livestock Nutritionist
 

 

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Dec 04, 2023
There are many concerns on cost of feed as it is one of the highest input costs in raising livestock.  Many times, we look at cost per head per day to evaluate the cost versus the return on investment in evaluating feed program decisions. Typically, this comes down to the cost per ton on a purchased feed being used to supplement other on farm stored feed. This is a business practice to execute since it has a direct impact on out-of-pocket costs and cash flow. I want to point out other ways to help overall profitability that I know the astute farm managers already are implementing on their farms. How you store and manage forages for farms with ruminants can have a large impact on feed used versus feed wasted. Here  are the points to examine.
Dec 04, 2023

We have completed our annual financial audit and I’m very pleased to report that your cooperative had another solid year in 2023. With highlights including consistent year over year growth from our feed division to lead our company in total sales to our energy team rebounding with the largest improvement to net income over the prior year, each division completed the year with strong sales and positive earnings. Premier will report our fiscal 2023 local net savings of $15 million and total revenues of just over $308 million will exceed previous records. Based on the strong 2023 results, and those of many prior years, we anticipate returning approximately $6 million in cash back to our members in the spring of 2024.