Facility Feature
Doon Elevator Adds Third Feed Mill at Single Site

Doon, IA — It’s not unheard of for a small grain handling company to house both a grain elevator and a feed mill on the same site. What’s more unusual is for a firm to operate three separate feed mills on the same site, each one dedicated to a different species.

With the opening of its third on-site mill in June 2020, Doon Elevator Co. in Doon, IA has one mill dedicated to dairy feeds, one to swine, and now one to beef cattle. The new 60-tph mill manufactures only bulk beef feeds, no range cubes or other specialty beef products.

“We’re dealing with a lot of different ingredients,” says Mill Manager Keith Kelderman. “This reduces the chance for cross-contamination. And we wouldn’t have had the space to build a large multi-species mill.”

The oldest mill on the property, constructed in the early 2000s, had been used for both beef and dairy feeds until this year. The second mill, which opened in 2017, is strictly for swine feeds.

Construction on the newest mill for beef feeds began in October 2019. D & W Industries, Sioux Falls, SD (800-843-9887), which built the 2017 mill, was selected as contractor, millwright, and engineer on the newest mill.

Mill Operations controlled by Easy Automation system

The new mill produces strictly mash feeds shipped in bulk. No pelleting is done, though there is room to add a pellet line later, if needed. All mill operations are under control of an Easy Automation system.

The all-steel mill includes a tower section containing 16 Scott smooth-wall ingredient bins holding an average total of 300 tons and 12 finished feed bins holding a total of 180 tons.

The mill receives bulk ingredients from the on-site grain elevator or from area farmers through one of two truck bays. The receiving pit feeds a 5,000-bph Schlagel leg equipped with 12x8 Tapco heavy-duty buckets mounted on a 14-inch belt leading up to a set of Schlagel rotary distributors.

Prior to binning, corn is ground on a Lone Star single-roll cracker or a Lone Star roller mill, both operating at 30 tph.

Ingredients are mixed in a Scott three-ton double-ribbon twin shaft mixer for an average 2-1/2 minutes per batch. Kelderman says the mixer has an ultimate capacity of 72 tph but has never been run at that maximum.

The beef mill utilizes a five-truck in-house truck fleet delivering to producers in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, primarily within a 20-mile radius, with a few as far away as 100 miles.

Company Profile: Doon Elevator Co.

Doon, IA • 712-726-3215

Founded: 1958

Grain storage: 2 million bushels Feed milling capacity: 170 tph in three mills

Number of employees: 13

Feed products: Beef, dairy, and swine feeds

Key personnel

• Leonard Hoekstra, president
• Glenn Kelderman, vice president
• Keith Kelderman, mill manager

Suppliers for the project:

• Automation system • Easy Automation
• Bucket elevators • Schlagel Inc.
• Contractor/millwright • D&W Industries
• Conveyors • Schlagel Inc.
• Cracker • Lone Star Equipment
• Distributors • Schlagel Inc.
• Elevator buckets • Tapco Inc.
• Engineering • D&W Industries
• Mixer • Scott Equipment Co.
• Roller mill • Lone Star Equipment
• Square bins • Scott Equipment Co.