Feed mill project planning
Feed mill project plan and RFQ — timeline, capacity calculator, budget and checklists
One working document for a commercial feed mill project: what happens in each phase and when, where the money actually goes, a capacity calculator that sizes the plant, and every equipment and feed mill RFQ line that must appear in the specification before a single quotation is requested. Used on projects across Europe, including the United Kingdom and Spain.
Jump to the capacity calculator · Capacity, energy & cost calculator · Submit the full feed mill RFQ · Feed mill FAQs · Project financing · Español
Short answer · reviewed August 2026
What does a complete feed mill project plan contain?
Three things: a phased timeline from requirement definition through commissioning and acceptance, usually 12 to 16 months for a greenfield mill; a budget broken into process equipment, storage and handling, automation, civil works, logistics, erection, utilities and contingency, because process equipment is only 35–50% of the real cost; and an equipment checklist covering intake, grinding, dosing, mixing, conditioning, pelleting or extrusion, cooling, sieving, storage, packing, dust control, controls and utilities. Anything not in the plan becomes a change order later.
Feed mill project plan at a glance
| Metric | Value | Unit | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total duration (greenfield) | 12–16 | months | Requirement definition to acceptance |
| Requirement definition | 0–4 | weeks | Phase 1 |
| RFQ and comparison | 4–12 | weeks | Phase 2 |
| Process equipment share | 35–50 | % of capex | Budget breakdown |
| Civil works share | 15–25 | % of capex | Budget breakdown |
| Contingency | 5–10 | % of capex | Budget breakdown |
Sources · How to compare feed mill quotations · Feed mill equipment list
Ranges are indicative buyer-side benchmarks compiled by FeedMatch Group from supplier offers and the sources above; verify against a current quotation before budgeting.
Where will the mill run, and on what inputs?
Location and ingredient supply shape capacity, equipment and budget before any supplier quotes. Confirm site access, power and water, permits, and the distance to your main raw materials and customers. Then estimate delivered ingredient cost — price plus freight, duties and handling — because ingredients are usually the largest running cost of feed, and they decide intake, storage and grinding needs.
- Site: land, power supply, water, permits and truck or rail access.
- Inputs: which ingredients, from where, in what volumes and how they arrive (bulk or bagged).
- Cost basis: delivered cost per tonne of each main ingredient, with your own quotes as inputs.
- Output check: how feed conversion (FCR) changes the cost per kilo your animals produce.
Estimate inputs with the landed cost calculator and test conversion scenarios in the FCR sensitivity calculator. Results are estimates based on your inputs, not guarantees. When the plan is ready, submit the feed mill RFQ — our team reviews projects from USD 250,000 before contacting suppliers.
Project timeline by phase
Phases overlap deliberately: manufacturing and civil works run in parallel. The weeks shown are planning bands for a greenfield mill in the 5–20 t/h range and shift with permits, grid power and port logistics.
Phase 1 — Requirement definition
Weeks 0–4Species, feed types, capacity in t/h, annual tonnage, process route and automation level fixed in writing.
Deliverable: Written technical requirement and budget band
Phase 2 — RFQ and supplier comparison
Weeks 4–12One specification issued to shortlisted manufacturers; offers normalised on scope, capacity basis and exclusions.
Deliverable: Comparable quotations, scope matrix, shortlist
Phase 3 — Contract and engineering
Weeks 12–22Contract, payment and guarantee terms agreed; layout, foundation loads and utility drawings released.
Deliverable: Signed contract, approved general arrangement
Phase 4 — Civil works and steel structure
Weeks 16–40Site preparation, foundations, tower or building structure, power supply and water in parallel with manufacturing.
Deliverable: Site ready for mechanical erection
Phase 5 — Manufacturing and shipping
Weeks 20–44Equipment production, factory acceptance where specified, packing, freight and customs clearance.
Deliverable: Equipment on site with documentation
Phase 6 — Erection and installation
Weeks 40–56Mechanical erection, conveying and silos, electrical installation, control cabinets and cabling.
Deliverable: Mechanically complete plant
Phase 7 — Commissioning and acceptance
Weeks 52–64Dry and wet commissioning, dosing accuracy checks, capacity and energy performance tests, operator training.
Deliverable: Signed acceptance against contract criteria
Budget breakdown
Shares of total installed project cost, excluding land, working capital and raw material. Use them to check whether a quotation covers the whole project or only the process package.
| Cost block | Share of capex | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Process equipment (grinding, mixing, pelleting or extrusion, cooling) | 35–50% | Driven by capacity, route and brand origin |
| Storage, intake and material handling | 10–18% | Silos, elevators, conveying, dust control |
| Automation, controls and electrical | 8–15% | Batching accuracy and traceability scope |
| Civil works, foundations and building/tower | 15–25% | Highly site- and country-dependent |
| Freight, insurance, duties and clearance | 5–12% | Depends on Incoterm and origin |
| Erection, commissioning and training | 6–12% | Check whether supervision only or full erection |
| Utilities (boiler, compressed air, power connection) | 4–10% | Often quoted outside the process package |
| Contingency | 5–10% | Scope gaps, currency and site surprises |
Planning bands, not a quotation. Real pricing comes from manufacturer offers against a written specification — run the feed mill cost reference and the total cost of ownership calculator alongside this table.
Equipment checklist
Every line below either appears in your specification or becomes a change order. Mark each item as in scope, out of scope or supplied locally before the RFQ goes out.
Intake and cleaning
- Truck or bag intake with grate and hopper
- Drum or vibrating pre-cleaner
- Magnet separation
- Bucket elevators and chain conveyors
- Aspiration and dust filter
Grinding and dosing
- Hammer mill or roller mill with the specified screen set
- Feeder and air-assisted discharge
- Dosing bins with load cells
- Micro-dosing for premix and additives
- Liquid dosing (oil, molasses, enzymes)
Mixing
- Batch mixer sized to batch time and CV target
- CV ≤ 5% mixing homogeneity test in the contract
- Mixer discharge and buffer bin
Pelleting or extrusion
- Conditioner with retention time stated
- Pellet mill or extruder with motor rating
- Die and roller set, spare set included
- Steam supply and boiler capacity
- Cooler and crumbler where required
Finishing and packing
- Sieve and fines return
- Post-pellet liquid coating if specified
- Finished product bins
- Bagging line and stitching or bulk loadout
- Palletiser where volumes justify
Controls and utilities
- PLC/SCADA with recipe management
- Batch reporting and traceability export
- Motor control centre and cabling scope
- Compressed air system
- Fire and explosion protection per local code
Documentation to demand with the quotation
- Process flow diagram and mass balance
- General arrangement with foundation loads
- Installed power list per machine
- Spare parts list for two years
- Performance guarantees: capacity, kWh/t, pellet durability, mixing CV
RFQ checklist — what the request must state
The equipment checklist above defines the plant. This checklist defines the request. If a line is missing, each manufacturer fills the gap with its own assumption and the offers stop being comparable.
Production basis
- Species and feed types with the phases to be produced
- Rated capacity in t/h per product, not just an annual tonnage
- Shifts per day and operating days per year
- Pellet diameters, mash share and any extruded products
- Raw materials available locally and their moisture and bulk density
Site and utilities
- Country, site address and available plot dimensions
- Height restriction for tower or flat-build layout
- Available grid power, voltage and frequency
- Steam source, water quality and compressed air availability
- Ambient conditions: temperature, humidity, seismic and wind loads
Scope split
- Which items are supplied by the manufacturer and which locally
- Civil works, steel structure and building: in or out of scope
- Erection: supervision only or full mechanical and electrical installation
- Freight Incoterm, port of destination and who clears customs
- Commissioning, operator training and warranty period
Performance and commercial terms
- Guaranteed capacity, kWh per tonne, pellet durability and mixing CV
- Acceptance test method and who signs off
- Delivery schedule with milestone dates
- Payment terms, bank guarantees and price validity
- Two-year spare parts list priced separately
- One deadline and one contact for all quotations
Feed mill capacity calculator
Nameplate tonnes per hour describe a machine; a feed mill project needs the capacity your annual plan actually requires. Enter the tonnage you must produce and how the plant will be run, and the calculator returns the effective t/h, the nameplate capacity to put in the feed mill RFQ and the raw-material storage tonnage. The result carries straight into the RFQ checklist below.
Changeovers, cleaning, maintenance and packing stops.
Effective capacity required
15.63 t/h
Annual tonnage ÷ effective production hours
Nameplate capacity to quote
17.36 t/h
Effective t/h with 10% headroom
Effective production hours
3,840 h/year
From 4,800 gross hours
Average daily throughput
200.0 t/day
Sets intake and despatch rates
Raw-material storage
4,200 t
Silo and warehouse cover requested
These figures are written into the RFQ checklist in the planning tool below.
Live planning tool — fill the RFQ checklist from your answers
Answer the production questions once. The tool converts annual tonnage and operating hours into an effective capacity in tonnes per hour, selects the equipment scope for the chosen process route, sizes raw-material storage and writes the whole thing into the RFQ checklist below — ready to copy into one specification that every manufacturer answers on the same basis.
Changeovers, cleaning, maintenance and packing stops.
Effective capacity
15.63 t/h
Nameplate to quote
17.36 t/h
Raw material storage
4,200 t
1. Production basis
- Species and feed types: — to be stated —
- Products and presentation: — to be stated —
- Annual tonnage: 60,000 t/year
- Operating pattern: 2 shift(s) × 8 h × 300 days = 4,800 gross hours/year
- Line utilisation assumed: 80% → 3,840 effective production hours/year
- Required effective capacity: 15.63 t/h
- Suggested nameplate capacity to quote (10% headroom for changeovers and cleaning): 17.36 t/h
2. Process route and equipment scope
- Process route: Grinding + mixing + conditioning + pelleting + cooling
- Intake, pre-cleaning, magnet separation and aspiration
- Hammer mill with screen set and air-assisted discharge
- Dosing bins on load cells, micro-dosing and liquid dosing
- Batch mixer, mixing CV ≤ 5% in the contract
- Conditioner with stated retention time and steam supply / boiler capacity
- Pellet mill with motor rating, die and roller set plus one spare set
- Cooler, crumbler where required, sieve and fines return
- Finished product bins, bagging line or bulk loadout
3. Raw materials, storage and handling
- Raw materials to be handled: — list grains, protein meals, oils, minerals and micro-ingredients —
- Average daily throughput: 200.0 t/day
- Raw material cover requested: 21 days ≈ 4,200 t of silo / warehouse capacity
- Intake method (truck, bag, container) and unloading rate required
- Moisture and bulk density ranges per material
- Conveying, elevators, dust control and explosion protection to local code
- Packaging and despatch: Bagged 25/50 kg and bulk loadout
4. Automation and quality control
- Automation level: Semi-automatic batching with recipe management
- Dosing accuracy per weighing range to be guaranteed
- Recipe management, batch records and traceability export format
- Alarms, downtime logging and remote support scope
- Laboratory and sampling scope: in or out of supplier scope
5. Site and utilities
- Project country / site: — to be stated —
- Electrical supply: — state available grid power, voltage and frequency —
- Height restriction: tower build or flat build
- Steam source and boiler capacity, in or out of scope
- Compressed air, water quality and effluent handling
- Ambient temperature, humidity, seismic and wind loads
6. Scope split and commercial terms
- Civil works, steel structure and building: in or out of supplier scope
- Erection: supervision only or full mechanical and electrical installation
- Freight Incoterm, destination port and who clears customs
- Commissioning, operator training and warranty period
- Guaranteed capacity, kWh per tonne, pellet durability and mixing CV with the acceptance test method
- Two-year spare parts list priced separately
- Target timeline: — to be stated —
- One deadline and one contact point for all quotations; exclusions listed explicitly
Planning figures only — no prices, capacity guarantees or performance promises. Every feed project request is reviewed manually by FeedMatch Group, and supplier outreach by our team happens only after internal approval.
Local focus: United Kingdom and Spain
FeedMatch works with commercial feed producers internationally, and two European markets come up constantly in project requests: the United Kingdom and Spain. The engineering is the same everywhere; the procurement basis is not. Below is what changes in each market before you request quotations.
Commercial feed-mill projects in the United Kingdom
UK buyers are usually working with an existing site, an established customer base and an assurance scheme, so the requirement is as much about installation, service and compliance documentation as it is about the machinery.
- Scope the line against UK feed-business registration and the assurance scheme your customers audit against (for example UFAS or FEMAS) before equipment is selected — sampling points, segregation and cleaning access are design decisions, not add-ons.
- Quote in a single currency and state the delivery basis explicitly: post-Brexit imports of EU-built process equipment carry customs clearance, documentation and inland haulage that global datasheets never include.
- Confirm electrical scope against UK site supply, plus CE/UKCA marking, machinery documentation and lifting or access requirements for the building you actually have.
- Ask every supplier for named UK service capability and spare-part lead time — an offer that only has continental service is a different offer, whatever the price says.
Proyectos de plantas de piensos en España
Spain is one of Europe's largest compound-feed producers, with dense pig, poultry, cattle and aquaculture demand. Regional authority, site conditions, energy cost and Spanish-language service and documentation shape the scope more than the equipment brand does.
- Spanish feed manufacturing is concentrated in strong livestock regions such as Catalonia, Aragón, Castilla y León, Murcia and Andalusia, and the receiving site's building, access and utilities usually shape the layout more than the machine list does.
- Registration as a feed business is handled through the competent authority of the autonomous community, and customer-facing assurance (for example GMP+ or a sector scheme) affects sampling, segregation and documentation — decide this before the line is configured.
- Intra-EU supply avoids customs clearance but not the rest: state Incoterms, installation, commissioning, translation of manuals and operator training in Spanish in the quotation scope.
- Require CE marking, documentation in Spanish and a named Spanish-speaking service contact with realistic spare-part lead time to the region.
FeedMatch Group is an independent procurement platform, not a manufacturer, installer or regulatory adviser. Registration, assurance and compliance obligations must be confirmed with the competent authority in your country. Every feed project request is reviewed manually by FeedMatch Group, and supplier outreach by our team happens only after internal approval.
Worked example: from the planning tool to a built plant
A documented walkthrough of a 60,000 t/year poultry feed mill — the capacity calculation, the RFQ checklist it produced, how six quotations were normalised and what changed between the first draft and the contracted scope.
Read the feed mill project walkthroughUK buyers: the same calculation worked through for a 40,000 t/year poultry and ruminant mill in the English Midlands — operating pattern, 14.25 t/h nameplate capacity, planning and electrical-supply constraints, medicated-feed carry-over and the UK scope split written into one feed mill RFQ.
Read the UK feed mill RFQ case studyStart a feed mill project
Hand the plan to a human advisor and turn it into one comparable RFQ
Submit the requirement once — species, capacity, process route, automation level, budget band and site country. Every feed project request is reviewed manually by FeedMatch Group, and supplier introductions are made only after internal approval. FeedMatch is supplier-neutral, does not manufacture feed or equipment, and serious project review, supplier routing and financing-pathway discussion generally start from an expected total project value of about USD 250,000.
Tools that fill in the numbers
- Standalone calculator — capacity, energy and cost per tonne
- Mill sizing calculator — capacity and equipment package
- Feed mill ROI calculator
- Automation ROI calculator
- Equipment comparison calculator
- Energy calculator — kWh per tonne
- Storage days calculator
- Feed mill supplier information
- Full planning workflow
- Submit a feed mill project request
- Full feed mill RFQ form — submit project details for a quotation
- Feed mill FAQs — capacity, RFQ and supplier answers
- Feed mill project gallery — photos and case studies
Frequently asked questions
How long does a feed mill project take from decision to production?
How should a feed mill budget be broken down?
What equipment must a feed mill equipment checklist cover?
What causes feed mill projects to slip?
Turn this plan into a quotable requirement
The RFQ builder carries capacity, process route, automation level, utilities and the equipment scope forward, so manufacturers our team contacts for you quote one defined requirement instead of their own assumptions. FeedMatch is supplier-neutral and works on feed projects from USD 250,000 upward.
Working on this for a client? A better project toolkit for feed consultants covers how to define capacity, process flow, storage and packaging before manufacturers quote.
New to feed-mill procurement? A feed mill is a project — not a product search walks the full flow from species and capacity to a structured RFQ and comparable manufacturer proposals.