Grower pig feed: where the tonnage starts to matter
Grower feed typically covers pigs from about 25 kg to 65 kg, with phase FCR commonly between 2.2 and 2.7. It is the stage where tonnage becomes large enough for bulk delivery and contract pricing to change the herd's feed cost per kilogram of gain.
Who buys at this stage
- Herds moving grower volumes from bags to bulk
- Buyers negotiating an indexed price for the largest combined grow-out block
- Producers modelling the effect of shifting the grower/finisher break point
Form and packaging
- Pellet diameter or meal grind specification
- Bulk delivery where silo capacity exists; big bags otherwise
- Wet-feeding compatibility where relevant
Commercial feed types
Pelleted grower
Standard commercial form; durability and fines affect wastage.
Meal / mash grower
Common in wet-feeding and home-mixing systems.
Home-mix with purchased concentrate
Where the unit mills on site; the RFQ then covers concentrate or premix.
What the RFQ must specify
- Pigs on feed, weight range covered and tonnes per year
- Expected grower FCR
- Form: pellet, meal or concentrate for home-mixing
- Quantity per shipment and committed annual volume
- Delivery point, port and preferred Incoterm
- Delivery schedule and acceptable lead time
- Packaging and pallet or bulk handling constraints
- Certifications and documents required with each shipment
- Currency, price basis and how long the price must hold
What moves the cost
- Cereal and protein market over the contract period
- Bulk versus bagged handling cost
- Distance from mill and delivery frequency
- Whether you buy compound feed or concentrate plus own cereals
Storage and shelf life
- Silo sizing around delivery size plus buffer
- Meal bridges more readily than pellets — check bin design
- Separate bins per phase where the programme requires it
Certifications and documents to ask for
- GMP+ B1 / FAMI-QS or an equivalent feed safety scheme
- HACCP plan and the mill's own quality manual
- Certificate of analysis per batch (proximate analysis, moisture)
- Mycotoxin, salmonella and heavy-metal testing regime
- Traceability of raw materials and batch numbering
- Non-GMO, halal or organic certification where your market requires it
- Country-specific feed registration and import documentation
Supplier evaluation checklist
- Installed capacity against your monthly tonnage, not just the annual total
- Evidence of supplying the same stage and pellet form commercially
- Batch consistency record and how out-of-spec batches are handled
- Lead time from order to delivery, and behaviour during raw-material volatility
- Price basis: fixed, indexed to a named raw material, or reviewed periodically
- Delivery capability to your point, Incoterm and vehicle or vessel constraints
- Technical support available on-site and the escalation route when results slip
Size the volume first
Questions buyers ask
Compound feed or concentrate plus own cereals?
How do I size an annual grower volume?
How are grower offers compared?
How the request is handled
You submit the requirement, a person at FeedMatch reviews it, and only then are qualified suppliers approached on your behalf. Offers come back normalised to the same delivered basis so they can actually be compared. No supplier receives your details automatically and no introduction happens without that review.
Submit a feed project requestFeedMatch Group is an independent, supplier-neutral procurement platform. We are not a feed manufacturer, trader, nutritionist, veterinarian or lender, and we do not guarantee prices, supply, FCR or animal performance. Figures on this page are indicative commercial planning ranges, not specifications. Every requirement is reviewed by a person before any supplier is approached, and no supplier receives your details automatically. Last reviewed 16 September 2026.