How Pelwatte makes own animal feed to formulate its creamy rich dairy portfolio

Pelwatte Dairy, one of the leading local dairy brands in Sri Lanka that produces a range of dairy goods and saves valuable foreign exchange for the country, has won the hearts of Sri Lankan dairy consumers thanks to its continued offer of Sri Lankan goodness to its dairy consumers.

The process of Pelwatte animal feed manufacture is demanding in its nature due to the need for adherence to quality. The raw material inputs such as corn and rice are first cleaned thoroughly removing any dust and other roughage. Minor and major ingredients are mixed after which they are arranged into batches. Mixing is a critical act since the quality of the mixing decides on the overall quality of the final product. Granulation, bulk density, accuracy of proportioning and mixing time are among factors contributing to a good mix.

This prepared raw material is fed to conveyor belts for grinding which outputs the powder form of the mix. Molasses are mixed thereafter. Molasses give the palatability and edible feel to the rough pellets. This mixture of molasses and raw material blend is then ‘cooked’ at 85 degrees Celsius for 15 seconds to condition it. While it is hot the conditioned mix is pelleted thereafter and then these pellets are cooled. Such cooled pellets are sieved and good pellets coming from sieve are sent to packing mill while the rest are re-sent for pelleting until they acquire the quality of good pellets that are sent to packing mill. In order to maintain consistency and quality of the pellets as well as to reduce costs, moisture control is maintained.

Moisture control also ensures there is no excess water or lower than required water levels in the pellets. The feed mill of Pelwatte Dairies Limited routinely produces mainly three types of cattle concentrate feeds. The “Pelwatte High Yielding Feed” is the concentrate feed for high yielding dairy cattle which has Metabolizable energy (2600-2750), Protein (16-17%) and Fat (5-7.5%).

“Pelwatte General Feed” is the concentrate feed for average yielding cattle and contains Metabolizable energy (2450-2550), Protein (13.5-14%), and Fat (5-7.5%). The “Pelwatte Calf Feed” is the concentrate feed for calves with higher rates of the same- Metabolizable energy (2800-2950), Protein (18-18.5%) and Fat (5-7.5%).