Animal Feed Formulation Level 3

Who it is for. People who have finished Animal Feed Formulation Level 2, or who already run a feed shop, farm mill or large livestock unit and can show the same skills. In Ghana's framework, National Proficiency II leads to National Certificate I, which covers complex work with minimum supervision. This module sits at about that level.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Level 2 left out solving many nutrients and many ingredients at once with software; testing in a laboratory; industrial milling, pelleting and automation; the legal side of making and selling feed; and running the business. Level 3 covers all of these. For general bookkeeping and business skills, see the Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2.

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 60% of the time is practical, in a laboratory, a mill or a feed shop, close to CTVET's Oil Palm programme split of about 30% school and 70% workplace.

Ingredient rules for the whole manual.

• Name every ingredient in plain words and say where to buy it. Local first: maize, sorghum, wheat bran, rice bran, palm kernel cake, soybean meal, groundnut cake, fish meal, oyster shell and others from Ghana markets.
• Use an import only when a local ingredient cannot meet the requirement: vitamin-mineral premix, synthetic methionine, lysine and threonine, choline, enzymes, toxin binders. Say why a local substitute would give poor results.
• Never use a cheaper ingredient that lowers performance. Every ingredient has a maximum inclusion limit in the formulation software, and the limits come from the tables of Level 2 and this manual.
• Every price in this manual is an asking price seen on Jiji Ghana on 8 October 2026 unless marked example. Prices change weekly. Get your own quotes before you decide anything.

• Moving parts: hammer mills, mixer ribbons, augers, elevators, pellet presses and chain feeders cut and crush. Lock out and tag out the power before you open, clean or unblock any machine. Never reach into a hopper or auger while it is connected to power.
• Dust: feed and grain dust burns and can explode when it is thick in the air. Housekeeping, dust collection and no ignition sources are the main controls. Do not dry-sweep or blow dust into the air. Wear a dust mask and ear protection.
• Heat and steam: pellet conditioners, steam lines and hot pellets burn skin. Use gloves, guards and labelled valves.
• Electricity and water: keep panels dry and locked; use earth-leakage protection; no wet hands on switches.
• Lifting: a 50 kg bag is heavy. Use two people, a trolley or a ramp, and stack bags no higher than the pallet and wall can safely hold.
• Cross-contamination: a mill that makes feed for several species can poison one species with another's feed. Copper in poultry and pig premixes harms sheep. Ionophores such as monensin can kill horses at amounts that cattle tolerate. Run clean-out and sequencing rules every day (see Unit 4).
• Medicines: doses, withdrawal periods and prescriptions belong to a veterinarian. This manual gives no medicine doses.

Competency standard

Range. Layer, broiler, pig and one ruminant formula; one real laboratory report or a sample report; one feed evaluation from flock or herd records. Evidence. Solver file with the matrix; hand check; shadow-price note; sampling record; laboratory report reading; evaluation sheet.

What linear programming is

A least-cost formula is a puzzle with three parts:

1. Decisions: how many kilograms of each ingredient in 100 kg of feed.
2. Constraints: the feed must supply at least (or at most) a set amount of energy, protein, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and fibre, and no ingredient may pass its maximum limit.
3. Objective: the total cost must be as small as possible.

If every nutrient adds up in a straight line (twice the maize gives twice the energy from maize), the puzzle is a linear program (teaching explanation, not from a source). The computer tries combinations in an organised way and stops at the cheapest one that meets every rule. Spreadsheets with a Solver add-on do this. Commercial feed-formulation packages do it too, with built-in tables, and their prices were not verified for this manual. Learn the method on a free spreadsheet first (Google Sheets or Excel with Solver) so you understand every number the software gives you.

A model is only as honest as its matrix. The matrix is the table of what each ingredient supplies. If the matrix says Ghana maize has 8.5% protein and your maize has 7.2%, the software will happily build a feed that is short. This is why Unit 1 also teaches the laboratory.

The nutrient matrix for a layer feed

The matrix below uses Feedipedia averages as fed (maize from Sub-Saharan African data). Plant phosphorus is mostly locked as phytate, so only about 25% of it counts as available phosphorus; animal and mineral phosphorus counts in full (simplification from Feedipedia Maize). Mineral and additive values: oyster shell about 37% calcium and no phosphorus; dicalcium phosphate 24% calcium and 20% phosphorus; salt 39.3% sodium (from atomic weights, teaching calculation); feed-grade L-lysine HCl about 78 to 79% lysine and DL-methionine about 99%.

Why these limits. Wheat bran for layers is held to 10% as the developer-feed fibre source (course judgement from Feedipedia Wheat bran). Rice bran goes rancid within hours of milling and layers do best under 10%. Palm kernel meal has been fed to layers at 25% without loss, so 20% is a conservative course cap. Fish meal is held to 5% because of histamine, oxidised fat, salt and adulteration risks. Cottonseed cake is left out of this layer model: gossypol and pink yolks make 5% the course cap for layers, and no Ghana price with a stated unit was found. Vitamins and trace minerals cannot come from maize and bran in the amounts a breeder guide demands, so the premix is an import.

The targets (constraints)

These are Lohmann Brown-Lite Phase 1 targets (50% lay to 40 weeks) at a daily intake of 105 g, with one honest change to fit Ghana maize:

Check your own breed. These values suit a brown layer in Phase 1. Hy-Line, ISA and other breeds publish their own tables; use yours. The Hy-Line W-36 guide is for white hens, so its numbers are not a perfect fit for brown birds.

Worked example: solving it

Prices used (example prices for planning, from Jiji Ghana asking prices on 8 October 2026 where a unit was stated: maize GH¢3.40/kg from a GH¢340 100 kg bag; soybean meal GH¢7.70/kg from GH¢385 for 50 kg; wheat bran GH¢4.40/kg from GH¢110 for 25 kg; rice bran GH¢2.20/kg from GH¢110 for 50 kg; palm kernel cake GH¢2.00/kg from GH¢100 for 50 kg at Tema; oyster shell GH¢1.90/kg from GH¢95 for 50 kg). Fish meal, dicalcium phosphate, methionine, lysine, salt and premix had no price with a stated unit, so the model uses invented example prices: fish meal GH¢12/kg, dicalcium phosphate GH¢9/kg, DL-methionine GH¢40/kg, L-lysine GH¢15/kg, salt GH¢2/kg and premix GH¢40/kg. Replace them with your supplier quotes.

I solved this with a linear-programming routine and checked the result by script. Least-cost layer feed, Phase 1 (example):

Result (computed): metabolisable energy 2,649 kcal/kg; crude protein 15.51%; calcium 3.90%; available phosphorus 0.42%; lysine 0.84%; methionine 0.48%; methionine + cystine 0.72%; sodium 0.18%; fibre 3.0%. Cost GH¢4.38 per kg, GH¢4,382 a tonne, GH¢219.11 for a 50 kg bag (example).

Hand check (always do this). Energy: 59.10 × 3,181 = 187,997; 14.15 × 2,249 = 31,823; 10.00 × 2,733 = 27,330; 0.75 × 2,417 = 1,813; 5.00 × 3,189 = 15,945; total 264,908 ÷ 100 = 2,649 kcal/kg. ✓ Calcium: 59.10 × 0.04 = 2.36; 14.15 × 0.33 = 4.67; 10 × 0.06 = 0.60; 0.75 × 0.26 = 0.20; 5 × 4.13 = 20.65; 9.15 × 37 = 338.55; 0.95 × 24 = 22.80; total 389.8 ÷ 100 = 3.90%. ✓

Lessons from the answer.

• Rice bran sits at its 10% cap. It is cheap per unit of energy, so the model wants more. Your cap, not the price, stops it. That cap protects the hens from rancid fat.
• The model chose 5% fish meal (the cap) instead of more synthetic methionine or soybean meal, because at the example price it was cheaper per unit of methionine. If fish meal costs GH¢20/kg the mix shifts. Test it.
• Wheat bran drops out at GH¢4.40/kg: rice bran gives more energy for less money.
• No lysine was bought: soybean meal and fish meal already supplied more than 0.79% (0.84%).
• The energy target (2,650) is below the 2,800 guide. The hen's intake rises when energy is lower: about 105 g becomes about 112 g. A flock that does not eat more will under-produce. Hot-climate intake falls too, so watch feed intake daily.

Shadow prices: what each rule costs

A shadow price is the extra cost of making one rule one unit tighter. Software shows it in the sensitivity report. For this formula (example prices, per 100 kg of feed, local to this answer):

Lysine, methionine alone and fibre have shadow prices of zero here because they are not tight: the answer already beats them. A zero shadow price means you can relax that rule for free; a large one means that rule is driving your cost. If a rule is expensive, ask whether it is really needed (for example, is 0.42% available phosphorus right for your breed and age?) before you pay for it.

Ranging: how far can a price move before the mix changes? In my test, the same mix stayed optimal while maize moved from GH¢3.00 to GH¢6.00/kg and fish meal from GH¢6 to GH¢15/kg; the total cost simply moved with the price. At GH¢20/kg fish meal, the mix changed (slightly less fish meal and more maize and soybean meal). Learn to ask the software for the allowable range, then re-run only when the price leaves it.

Safety margins

A table value is an average. Your maize, your mixer and your laboratory all vary. A safety margin is extra nutrient built into the formula so that the feed, on average, still meets the requirement after that variation.

Three kinds of variation:

1. Ingredient variation: the nutrient content differs from the table. Test the main ingredients and use your own numbers in the matrix. Ghana-grown maize, groundnut cake, wheat bran and rice bran have no Ghana composition table here, so only a laboratory test tells you.
2. Mixing variation: the mixer does not spread each nutrient perfectly. Measure it with a mixer test (Unit 2).
3. Analysis variation: two laboratories can report slightly different numbers for the same sample.

A simple method (teaching method, not from a source). If the combined standard deviation of a nutrient is s, and you want to meet the requirement about 95 times in 100, formulate to requirement + 1.645 × s (1.645 is the standard value for a one-sided 95% limit in statistics). Example: lysine requirement 0.79%, combined standard deviation 0.03 points → target 0.79 + 1.645 × 0.03 = 0.84%. Crude protein requirement 15.5% with standard deviation 0.4 → target 16.16%.

What do margins cost? I raised only the targets for crude protein, available phosphorus, lysine, methionine and methionine + cystine, and re-solved (example prices):

At 10% the limits on fish meal and the other ingredients leave no way to meet every target. An infeasible answer is the model telling you something: you need a new ingredient, a looser limit or a lower target. Do not just delete the rule.

Where margins matter most: amino acids and available phosphorus in poultry and pig feeds, calcium in layer feed, and the copper, urea and ionophore safety limits (these are upper limits, so the margin goes the other way: stay well below the maximum). For safety limits, never use the tolerance. Use the zero or the low cap.

Other things software can do

• Digestible amino acids. Hy-Line says diets should be formulated on digestible amino acids, and total amino acids fit only maize-soy diets. Use digestible values where your supplier or laboratory gives them.
• Enzymes. Phytase at 500 units/kg or more can lower the calcium and phosphorus needed by 0.05 to 0.1% in pig feed. In software this is a "matrix credit" on the phosphorus row. Use it only with a product that has supplier data, and verify with a laboratory.
• Ratios. Calcium to phosphorus (pigs: total Ca:P between 1.25:1 and 1:1). Add them as ratio constraints.
• Ruminants. Ruminant models use dry-matter intake, fibre (neutral detergent fibre), starch limit and rumen-undegradable protein rows instead of metabolisable energy alone. The same method applies; the rows are different.
• Several feeds at once. Premix and base-mix models let you make a base mix for three diets and only change the final 10%.

Laboratory analysis

Software is only as good as the numbers you give it. A laboratory turns "I think this maize is good" into a number.

The proximate (Weende) system. FAO describes the routine scheme: moisture, crude protein, crude fibre, crude lipid (ether extract), ash and nitrogen-free extract. It is used on ingredients and finished feed.

Worked example (all values example). A maize sample reports, as fed: moisture 11.0%, ash 1.4%, crude protein 8.0%, ether extract 3.8%, crude fibre 2.1%. Nitrogen-free extract = 100 − 11.0 − 1.4 − 8.0 − 3.8 − 2.1 = 73.7%. Check: if Kjeldahl nitrogen is 1.28%, crude protein = 1.28 × 6.25 = 8.0%. ✓

As-fed or dry matter? Always ask. A report may give crude protein as 17.0% of dry matter. At 90% dry matter the as-fed value is 17.0 × 0.90 = 15.3%. The matrix needs one basis. The same maize at 11% moisture has 8.0% crude protein as fed but 8.0 ÷ 0.89 × 100 = 8.99% on a dry-matter basis. Mixing the two bases is the commonest mistake.

Calcium, phosphorus, amino acids and others. Ask the laboratory which method it uses for calcium and phosphorus, and whether it can report amino acids; amino acid analysis is a specialist test and many laboratories do not offer it (method details not verified here). Ask for the method name and the detection limit on every report. For mycotoxins, ask for the toxin, the unit (ppb is micrograms per kg) and the method.

NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopy. NIR scans a sample in seconds, but it does not measure nutrients directly. It predicts them from a calibration made from many samples with wet-chemistry reference results. A calibration works for the kind of material it was built on and must be kept up to date, and tropical feeds need calibration against local samples. Good practice in one commercial laboratory is to re-test about one in ten or one in twenty samples by wet chemistry and to revert to full wet chemistry if the results drift. So: buy an NIR only when you test many samples every day, and keep paying for wet-chemistry checks.

Laboratories in Ghana (verify before you send anything). The CSIR Animal Research Institute at Achimota lists feed formulation and feed-analysis laboratory services among its core services, but its test menu, fees and sample requirements were not found. The University of Ghana's Animal Nutrition Laboratory describes proximate analysis (dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, crude fibre, ash) for farmers and feed millers. Ask each one for the price, turnaround time, accreditation and sample size. No laboratory in the Western Region was verified.

Sampling is half of the result. A good sample is small, from the whole lot, and labelled. (Teaching method, not from a source.)

1. Take small portions from at least 10 places in the lot (top, middle, bottom, several bags), using a probe or scoop.
2. Mix the portions on a clean sheet; divide into quarters; keep opposite quarters; repeat until you have the amount the laboratory asks for.
3. Seal in a clean bag, label with ingredient, supplier, lot, date, who sampled, and keep a second sample of the same lot for yourself.
4. Send quickly, cool and dry. Wet samples mould and change.

Evaluating a feed

The best feed is not the cheapest per kg; it is the cheapest per unit of product.

Layer flock example (all figures example). 1,000 hens eat 105 g/day for 30 days. Hen-day production is 92%; the average egg weighs 63 g. Feed is GH¢4.382 per kg from the worked formula.

Hy-Line W-36 gives a feed conversion of 1.81 to 1.94 kg feed per kg egg from 20 to 60 weeks and about 99.6 g feed/bird/day over the laying life. Egg prices are from news reports. This flock is at the efficient end of the Hy-Line range, so the example is realistic only for a well-managed flock.

Compare two feeds. Feed A costs GH¢4.38/kg and gives conversion 1.81. Feed B costs GH¢4.10/kg and gives 1.95. Cost per kg egg: A = 4.38 × 1.81 = GH¢7.93; B = 4.10 × 1.95 = GH¢8.00. The cheaper feed costs more per kg of egg. (Example.)

On-farm feeding trial (teaching method). Two equal pens, the same age and breed, one feed each, same water and light, four weeks, measured weekly. Record feed given, feed left, eggs or weights, deaths. Judge by cost per kg of product, not by feed price. One trial in one house is not proof; repeat it.

Competency standard

Range. A 0.5 to 2 tonnes an hour plant on paper, and one visit to or day in a working mill. Evidence. Process flow and layout drawing; mixer test; pellet test; maintenance schedule.

The process, step by step

(Teaching summary of mill flow; the data points below are sourced.)

Plant design: one-way flow

Dust and fire. Combustible dust collects on beams, ledges and equipment. A feed-mill explosion in the United States was linked to heavy dust build-up at a hammer mill; investigators also found no written housekeeping programme, no warning signs and no training. Write a housekeeping schedule, use dust-rated vacuums, and do not dry-sweep. Ask the Ghana National Fire Service about a fire certificate for the site.

Grinding

A hammer mill breaks the grain against a screen. The size of the holes in the screen mainly sets the fineness, and finer screens need much more power. Hammer mills are sold in Ghana from about GH¢4,000 to GH¢29,000, typically GH¢7,000 to 18,500, and a grinder with a mixer in one set was listed at GH¢16,000.

Particle size for poultry (Lohmann layers): no particle over 3 mm in starter feed and over 5 mm in grower, developer or layer feed; a coarse mash raises intake and very fine feed lowers it. The same guide gives a sieve pattern for mash (about 19% passing 0.5 mm, 40% passing 1.0 mm, 75% passing 1.5 mm, 90% passing 2.0 mm and 100% passing 2.5 mm). Pelleted or crumbled feed works better than mash for weaned piglets.

Energy. A vendor guide gives a rough 8 to 12 kWh per ton for medium grinding of maize and 6 to 10 for wheat, with a sharp rise for fine screens; research on hammer mills measures only the impact energy and so gives lower figures. Measure your own: read the electricity meter before and after a run and divide by the tonnes ground. Example: 10 kWh per tonne at an example tariff of GH¢1.50 per kWh is GH¢15 per tonne, or GH¢0.75 per 50 kg bag.

Grind only what is needed. Over-fine grinding wastes power, makes dust, and does not help layers or ruminants. Use the coarsest screen that still mixes and pellets well.

Batching and mixing

Batch accuracy. Weigh every ingredient on a checked scale; record planned and actual weight; stop if the difference passes a set limit. Large ingredients (maize, soybean meal) tolerate more error than small ones (premix, methionine, salt), so weigh the small ones on a fine scale.

Mixing. Mixers differ. Follow the maker's batch size (never overload; never run below the minimum), the order of adding ingredients, and the mixing time. Overfilling and worn knives or ribbons cause poor mixing in TMR mixers. Add liquids last and dry supplements at the end of loading. Mix 3 to 5 minutes after the last ingredient in a TMR mixer; ask your dry-feed mixer's maker for its time and confirm it with a test.

The mixer test (CV). Take 10 samples from one batch (from different places and times during discharge). Measure one tracer in each: salt is simple to measure with a salt meter or a laboratory, and micro-tracers are used in industry. Then compute the coefficient of variation (CV) = standard deviation ÷ mean × 100.

Worked example (example data). Salt in 10 samples (%): 0.42, 0.47, 0.44, 0.40, 0.51, 0.45, 0.43, 0.46, 0.38, 0.49. Mean 0.445; standard deviation 0.0398; CV = 0.0398 ÷ 0.445 × 100 = 8.9%. TMR guidance aims for a CV of 5% or less, with problems at 6 to 8%. 8.9% is poor: check the batch size, mixing time, worn parts, and the order of loading. Ask the mixer's maker for the target for dry compound feed. A CV that high means some bags have too little premix and others too much, which matters most for copper-sensitive sheep and ionophore-sensitive horses.

Order of loading (teaching rule). Heavy and bulky first, small ingredients in the middle (premixed with a little maize if the maker advises), liquids last. Flush with a few kilograms of maize between formulas if the maker advises.

Conditioning and pelleting

A pellet press forces conditioned mash through a die. The conditioner adds steam to heat and moisten the mash. Kansas State research (summary) found:

• Longer die channels (a higher length-to-diameter ratio) raised pellet durability; going from 5.6 to 8.0 gave about 7.8% more durability.
• Hotter conditioning raised durability; swine feed trials used about 165 to 185°F; a broiler trial found 180°F versus 200°F raised durability and throughput.
• Phytase survives if the hot pellet stays below about 189°F (87°C).
• Time in the conditioner is about 30 seconds and in the die 1 to 4 seconds.

Copy these as ranges to discuss with the pellet-machine maker, not as a recipe.

Why pellets? Pellets cut sorting by birds and pigs, reduce dust, and pigs and piglets do better on pelleted or crumbled feed than mash. For layers, Lohmann recommends coarse mash and says pellets should be crumbled to the recommended texture. Heat can reduce vitamins, so premix may need higher levels in heat-treated feed. Cooling and sieving remove heat and fines (teaching explanation, not from a source).

Pellet-machine prices (Jiji, Oct 2026). Pellet machines GH¢8,500 to 32,000. A flat-die machine of 150 to 200 kg/h is about GH¢9,000 to 15,600; a 1,200 kg/h machine about GH¢32,000. A small flat-die press for a farm is a very different tool from an industrial ring-die plant with a steam conditioner and cooler; compare capacity, die life, maintenance and spare parts before you buy.

Pellet quality tests (teaching method). Pellet durability (the share that stays whole after tumbling), fines (powder in a sieve), length and diameter, moisture and temperature after the cooler. Record them every shift.

Bulk handling, bagging and storage

• Bulk: augers, conveyors and bucket elevators move bulk feed. Bulk delivery cuts bags and labour, but needs a delivery truck, a bin for each feed and a clean-out rule. Lohmann advises bulk feed handling without the driver entering the houses.
• Bags: weigh each bag; sew or seal; label with product, species, stage, batch number, date, weight and warnings (Unit 4).
• Storage: dry, ventilated, off the floor, away from walls. First in, first out.
• Aflatoxin: in Ghana trials, maize in hermetic bags stayed at 48.9 ppb aflatoxin against 82.9 ppb in polypropylene sacks after six months at Brong-Ahafo. Sort and dry before storage. A safe moisture figure from a Ghana or FAO source was not verified.
• Rice bran goes rancid within hours of milling; use it fresh and do not stockpile it.

Energy, loss and maintenance

Loss and shrinkage. Track the weight of ingredients in against weight of feed out. The difference is moisture loss, dust, spillage and theft. Example: 20,000 kg in, 19,900 kg out = 0.5% loss. A loss above your normal needs investigation.

Preventive maintenance (teaching schedule).

Keep a maintenance log. Keep spare hammers, screens, belts, bearings and fuses. A mill stopped for a spare costs more than the spare.

Competency standard

Range. One poultry house, one dairy or pig example, one mill example; paper plans and one site visit. Evidence. Equipment choice sheet; TMR batch sheet; payback calculation; supplier questions.

When to automate

Automate when a job is repeated every day, errors are costly, labour is scarce or costly, and you can service the equipment. Do not automate to look modern. A cheap scoop and a scale are better than an expensive machine that nobody can repair. Check these before you buy:

Poultry: chain, pan and trough feeders

Chain feeders move feed along a trough in a loop; pan feeders deliver feed to round pans on a line. In a broiler-breeder poster, pan feeders gave more space per bird, delivered faster and cut pick-over (sorting out the best bits) but cost more. Targets given: chain speed 40 to 60 ft/min, one complete cycle in 10 minutes, feed distribution in under 3 minutes; feeder space for females 5, 10 and 15 cm per bird at 0 to 35, 36 to 70 and 71+ days for a chain track, and 4, 8 and 10 cm for a pan; clean-up time 3 to 4 hours for mash, 2 to 3 for crumble and 1 to 2 for pellet at peak. These are broiler-breeder targets; use the guide for your strain and system.

Layers (Lohmann). Trough space of 10 cm per bird (8 as the minimum), 20 birds per pan, 6 birds per nipple or cup (the guide also lists 8), floor space 8.5 birds per square metre and 456 cm² of cage area per bird (350 as the minimum).

Feed control. Whatever you use, Lohmann says to record feed and water use every day; hens adjust intake to energy density, coarse feed raises intake and fine feed lowers it, and "there is no danger in wasting feed" compared with restricting feed for layers, whereas breeders are restricted by weight profile on purpose. A breeder-feeding system must deliver the whole day's feed fast so that every bird eats at the same time. That is why chain and pan feeders are used in breeder houses.

Hoppers and feed lines. A bulk bin outside the house, an auger or chain to the feeder line and a level sensor in the hopper complete the system. Lohmann advises bulk delivery without the driver entering the houses, to protect biosecurity. A sensor at the end of the line (or a timer) stops the chain when feed arrives.

Automatic water lines (nipples). Nipple drinkers are sold in Ghana at about GH¢3 to 8 each, and a bucket drinker at about GH¢130. Lohmann says water is best near 20°C, chicks need water 20 to 25°C and a low nipple pressure, and the water-to-feed ratio of about 1.8 to 2:1 at comfortable temperatures can rise to about 5:1 above 30°C. Hy-Line gives water-quality limits to test: total dissolved solids about 1,000 mg/L, pH 5 to 7, total bacteria about 1,000 per ml, with no faecal coliforms. A water meter on each house is the cheapest "sensor": a sudden fall in water use is often the first sign of disease or a blocked line.

Lighting timers. Never increase the hours of light during rearing and never decrease them during production. A timer or controller keeps this rule every day, including at weekends.

Ghana supply. No Ghana supplier of chain-feeder systems was found. A large European maker lists a West Africa service through a Nigeria office; whether it serves Ghana was not verified. Local metal workshops can build troughs and hoppers; ask to see their earlier work.

Pigs: automatic sow feeders

An electronic sow feeder (ESF) reads a tag on each sow and gives each her own ration. One station serves about 60 to 70 sows. ESF is one of the ways to restrict gestation feed to 2.0 to 2.7 kg a day without bullying (others: individual stalls, skip-a-day feeding, fibre dilution). In lactation, intake is far higher, about 5.95 to 6.6 kg a day with wastage, and sows eat more when feed is wet, fed two or more times a day, pelleted, and lit for 15 hours. A drop in a sow's daily intake on the ESF screen is an early warning of illness. No current ESF price was found (an old 1989 price is obsolete). ESF is a large-herd tool; at 20 sows, individual feeding by hand is cheaper.

Cattle: automatic calf feeders

An automatic calf feeder mixes milk replacer and gives each tagged calf its share in small meals. It lets calves drink more often (good for growth) but only if it is cleaned after each use. In 2009 US prices were about US$18,000 to 22,000 for two stations plus about US$5,000 for each monitoring station; in Ireland about EUR 15,000 for two stations to EUR 21,000 for four, and service EUR 375 to 450 a year. Those are foreign and old figures; use them only as a warning that this is a large investment.

Calf rules that the machine must follow (APHIS):

• Good colostrum (more than 50 g/L IgG) in the first 24 hours, while the calf can still absorb antibodies.
• Milk or replacer for at least 6 weeks, 15 to 20% or more of birth weight daily, mixed at 12 to 15% dry matter.
• Water free choice from day 1 (calves with water gained 0.31 against 0.18 kg/day in a trial) and starter (22 to 25% crude protein) within 7 days.
• Wean when eating at least 1.4 kg starter on three days in a row and at least 6 weeks old, over at least 7 days.
• Milk bacteria targets: total plate count under 20,000 CFU/ml and coliforms under 10 CFU/ml (all from Source: APHIS Calf Guide).

On the Accra Plains, smallholder cows gave about 1.35 to 3.6 kg of milk a day. At that scale an automatic calf feeder will rarely pay. Hand-feeding with a clean bucket, a thermometer and a record sheet gives most of the benefit.

Dairy: the TMR mixer

A total mixed ration (TMR) mixer blends forage and concentrate so that every mouthful has the same balance and the cow cannot sort. Teaching points from dairy extension:

• Load the roughage first; add liquids and dry supplements last.
• Mix for 3 to 5 minutes after the last ingredient.
• The aim is a CV of 5% or less; problems appear at 6 to 8%.
• Overfilling and dull knives cause variation.
• The Penn State shaker box checks particle size: a lactation TMR should have about 6 to 10% on the top screen and about 45 to 55% on the middle.

Worked batch (example). A group of 10 cows, each fed 12 kg of dry matter (DM) a day. DM mix: 55% fresh elephant grass, 10% cowpea hay, 35% concentrate. Dry matters: fresh elephant grass 17.9% DM, cowpea hay 91.2% DM; concentrate 89% DM (example).

Crude protein of the DM: grass 1.7 ÷ 17.9 = 9.5%, hay 13.5 ÷ 91.2 = 14.8%, concentrate 16 ÷ 0.89 = 18.0% of DM → total CP = 0.627 + 0.178 + 0.756 = 1.56 kg ÷ 12 = 13.0% of DM (Feedipedia values as fed: elephant grass CP 1.7%, cowpea hay 13.5%). Compare with your cows: the minimum-protein list in Merck starts at 14.5% for a 27 kg/day cow, well above a Ghanaian cow's milk, so this ration is a teaching example only and must be balanced for the real group with the Level 2 tables.

Elephant grass at 17.9% DM is very wet: 37 kg of fresh grass per cow fills the mixer fast. Always convert from DM to as-fed with the day's DM test (oven or microwave test; Level 2). Silage and hay change DM with weather. Note also that Ghana's herds are small, so a TMR mixer rarely pays unless you feed 30 or more cows.

Weigh-batching, PLC and SCADA in a feed mill

Teaching definitions (not from a source):

• A load cell is a sensor under a hopper or scale that turns weight into an electric signal.
• A PLC (programmable logic controller) is a small industrial computer that opens and closes augers and gates in a set order.
• SCADA is the screen and software above the PLC that shows the plant and keeps records.

Industry micro-ingredient systems add small ingredients (premix, amino acids, drugs) by gain-in-weight (add until the scale shows the target) or loss-in-weight (the hopper loses weight as it feeds) using load cells. The PLC compares the weight with the formula and corrects the augers. Modules range from 1 to 12 ingredients. A unique batch ID, barcode or RFID tags carry the formula and traceability data, and destination checks stop the wrong feed going to the wrong bin, which matters for copper and ionophore feeds. Prices were not found.

What automation prevents:

• Wrong ingredient, wrong amount, wrong order.
• A forgotten premix (the PLC will not let the batch finish).
• Wrong feed to the wrong bin or truck.
• Missing records, because the record is made by the system.

What it does not prevent: a bad ingredient, a wrong formula typed in, a scale never calibrated, or dust and moisture damaging sensors. Calibrate scales with test weights on a schedule, and check the first batch of each new formula by laboratory test.

Sensors on the farm and in the mill

(Teaching table, no sourced prices; sensor costs were not found.)

Cost, saving and payback

Payback = cost ÷ yearly net saving. All figures here are examples.

An automatic feeding line for a 5,000-hen house costs GH¢60,000 (example; no Ghana quote was found). It saves 1.5 workers' time and 1% of feed through less waste. A worker on the 2026 minimum wage of GH¢21.77 a day earns about GH¢587.79 a month at 27 days, GH¢7,053 a year, plus the employer's SSNIT of 13%: GH¢7,970 a worker. 1.5 workers = GH¢11,956 a year. Feed eaten: 5,000 × 0.105 kg × 365 = 191,625 kg; at GH¢4.382 per kg that is GH¢839,701 a year; 1% = GH¢8,397. Saving = 11,956 + 8,397 = GH¢20,353; payback = 60,000 ÷ 20,353 = 2.9 years. If power and repairs cost GH¢3,000 a year, net saving is GH¢17,353 and payback is 3.5 years. Compare that with the life of the equipment and the cost of borrowing: the Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14%, and bank loan rates were not verified.

Competency standard

Range. A layer, a broiler, a pig and a dairy example; a mill QA manual of 2 to 4 pages. Evidence. Phase plan; QA manual; mock recall report; regulation checklist; letter to an agency.

Phase and precision feeding

Phase feeding changes the feed as the animal's needs change. Precision feeding goes further: it feeds each group or animal what it needs today, using records and sensors.

Layers (Lohmann Brown-Lite, at 105 g/day, ME 2,800 kcal/kg):

Protein and phosphorus fall with age and calcium rises. A hen eating less needs a denser feed, and Lohmann publishes columns for 100 to 115 g of intake. Hy-Line says that when production stays high past the usual age, move to the calcium and phosphorus of the next phase. Change feed by body weight in rearing, not by age, and use the pre-layer feed (about 2.0 to 2.5% calcium) for about 10 days, at most 1 kg per bird, starting about 2 weeks before the first eggs; change to layer feed before 5% production.

Heat. Hy-Line gives about 1.8 kcal of energy per bird per day for each 0.5°C above or below 22°C. Example: at 30°C the difference from 22°C is 8°C, or 16 steps of 0.5°C; 16 × 1.8 = about 29 kcal less energy needed per bird per day than at 22°C. Hot hens eat less, so the feed must be denser in nutrients; a pre-peak diet with lower energy can help intake in hot climates, and extra vitamins and trace minerals (up to 30% more) can help a lower intake in pre-peak.

Broilers (Ross, target weight under 2.0 kg):

A withdrawal feed is fed to meet medicine withdrawal times.

Worked saving (example). Use the Cobb 500 cumulative feed: 588 g by day 14, 2,359 g by day 28 and 5,100 g by day 42. Split: 0.588 kg before day 14, 1.771 kg for days 14 to 28, 2.741 kg for days 28 to 42; total 5.100 kg. A single feed at 21.5% protein throughout supplies 5.100 × 0.215 = 1.0965 kg protein. Three-phase feed at 23.0, 21.5 and 19.5% supplies 0.588 × 0.23 + 1.771 × 0.215 + 2.741 × 0.195 = 0.1352 + 0.3808 + 0.5345 = 1.0505 kg, 4.2% less. In money, with the example layer shadow price of GH¢0.19 per kg of feed for each 1 percentage point of crude protein (Unit 1; your own broiler model will give a different value): finisher saves 2.741 × 2 × 0.1888 = GH¢1.04; starter costs 0.588 × 1.5 × 0.1888 = GH¢0.17 more; net about GH¢0.87 per bird, or GH¢4,350 for 5,000 birds. This is an approximate teaching estimate, not a feeding recommendation: the real gain also depends on amino-acid balance, growth and health. Use the breeder's table for your strain.

Pigs (NRC 2012 guide values from Merck): lysine 1.70% at 5 to 7 kg, 1.12% at 25 to 50 kg, 0.84% at 75 to 100 kg and 0.71% at 100 to 135 kg; approximate crude protein falls from 24 to 26% down to 13.4%. Intake lowers need for density: raise nutrient concentration if intake is lower. Two or three grower feeds instead of one cuts waste. Sows need different feeds in gestation (restricted, 2.0 to 2.7 kg/day) and lactation (high intake, higher lysine 0.90 to 0.93%).

Dairy: group cows by stage (dry far-off, dry close-up, fresh, early, mid, late) and by yield. The Merck/MSD table shows crude protein from 12.0% for far-off dry cows to 17.5% for fresh cows. Minimum protein rises with milk yield (14.5% at 27 kg/day to 18.3% at 55 kg/day for large breeds). Ghana cows give far less milk, so scale down and test.

What to record to feed precisely: daily feed and water per house; weekly body weight (sample of 50 birds or all pigs on a scale); egg numbers and weight; milk yield per cow; deaths and causes. Lohmann tells farmers to check health, temperature, ventilation, feed and water, light and mortality every day.

Quality assurance in a feed mill

QA means: write what you will do, do it, record it, check it, fix problems. A simple programme:

Codex has a Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding that covers good feeding on farms and good manufacturing practice in buying, handling, storing, processing and distributing feed, and it includes a section on traceability and record keeping. Read the official text for the current wording.

Specification sheet for an ingredient (example). Name; supplier; maximum moisture; minimum crude protein; maximum ash; maximum fibre; mycotoxin limit; foreign matter; packaging; test frequency; action. Write one for every main ingredient.

Mycotoxins. There is no Ghana feed limit for aflatoxin in the sources found. The United States FDA action levels (guidance, not Ghana law) are 20 ppb for immature animals, dairy cows and unknown uses, 100 ppb for breeding cattle, breeding swine and mature poultry (laying hens), 200 ppb for finishing swine over 100 lb and 300 ppb for finishing beef cattle. For dairy, keep the ration near 20 ppb so milk stays under 0.5 ppb aflatoxin M1. Ghana launched a National Policy for Aflatoxin Control in Food and Feed in October 2022; Aflasafe products cut aflatoxin by 98 to 100% in treated maize and groundnut in trials. Imported maize is often aflatoxin-prone and needs a permit. Groundnut cake, maize and sun-dried copra are known aflatoxin risks. Mould inhibitors and toxin binders are sold in Ghana; no Ghana evidence on how well they work or how they are regulated was found, so ask for the supplier's test report and do not rely on a binder to fix bad grain.

Traceability

Traceability means: from any bag you can find the batch, the ingredients and the animals that ate it, and from any ingredient lot you can find all batches and customers.

A simple system:

1. Give every ingredient lot a code when it arrives (supplier, date, weight, test results).
2. Give every batch a code (date, line, formula number, batch number: for example 251020-L1-F07-03).
3. Write the ingredient lots used in each batch on the batch sheet.
4. Print the batch code on every bag or tag.
5. Record every sale or delivery with the batch code and customer.
6. Keep a retained sample of every batch.
7. Keep the records for at least 6 years, the Ghana record period for tax records.

Mock recall (practise it twice a year). Pick a batch and time how long it takes to list every customer and the quantity they got. Aim for the same working day.

Example. Batch 251020-L1-F07-03 was 2,000 kg = 40 bags of 50 kg. Delivery book: Farm A 12 bags, Farm B 10, Farm C 8, Farm D 6, Farm E 4. 12 + 10 + 8 + 6 + 4 = 40 ✓. All bags accounted for. If the total were 38, two bags are missing and must be found. The recall must also count the bags unsold in the shop.

Feed regulation in Ghana: what is known and what is not

Be honest with customers and inspectors. The rules are partly unclear, and this module can only report what was found.

Course rule while the law is unclear. Behave as if the strictest sensible rule applies. Keep the records. Write to the Veterinary Services Directorate, the FDA and the GSA, ask what applies to a feed mill and a feed shop, keep their replies and show them to any inspector.

Animal-health and residue rules

No doses. Medicines, antibiotics and coccidiostats are prescribed by a veterinarian, follow the label and have a withdrawal period. This manual gives no doses and no withdrawal days because Ghana-specific withdrawal rules were not found.

Mill rules that protect animals:

• Sheep: broiler premix has 16 mg copper per kg added and sow premix 10 to 20 ppm; palm kernel meal itself holds 20 to 30 ppm; as little as 25 ppm in the sheep diet can be toxic; cattle and horse mineral supplements are too high in copper for sheep. Never make sheep feed in a line that just made poultry or pig feed without a clean-out. A copper-free "yellow" salt block for sheep was listed on Jiji at GH¢215 for 10 kg and a copper-containing block for beef cattle at the same price.
• Horses: monensin and other ionophores can kill horses; horses are about 20 times more sensitive than cattle and 200 times more than poultry to monensin; there is no antidote; horses must never get cattle, small-ruminant or poultry feed or premixes; a 2024 incident killed 70 horses after feed-mill contamination.
• Layers: carry-over of coccidiostats into layer feed leaves residues in eggs; the EU sets a carry-over rate of 1% for non-target feed as an undesirable level. Never use coccidiostats in the feed of vaccinated pullets. Dolomitic limestone must not be used for poultry.
• Ruminants: urea is for ruminants only, at most 1% of the whole diet, never for young lambs or calves. No meat and bone meal, bone meal, blood meal or fish meal for cattle, sheep or goats. Cottonseed cake is held to 15% for cattle and none for young ruminants and breeding stock.
• Pigs: never remove salt from the diet; deficiency signs appear within 3 days. Always keep clean water available. Salt-poisoning details were not verified from an authority.
• Dairy: aflatoxin M1 may reach milk when cows eat damaged maize.

Sequencing and flush. Plan the day's production so the riskiest products come last or on a separate line: species with sensitivity (sheep, horses) first after a full clean-out, then others (teaching method). Flush with a few kilograms of maize, discard the flush, log it.

Labels. Every bag should show: product name and species and stage; "Do not feed to [protected species]" where needed (for example sheep, horses); main ingredients; guaranteed analysis (protein, fat, fibre, calcium, phosphorus, lysine, methionine); additives; weight; batch number and date; best-before date; storage; address; and the registration number once the law requires it. Do not claim what you cannot prove.

Competency standard

Range. Own business plan for a feed shop or small mill. Evidence. Registration checklist with costs; start-up budget; payroll sheet; one-page plan.

Choose a business model

Who is already in the market. De Heus Ghana (Koudijs) is building a compound-feed plant in Tema, reported at 90,000 tonnes a year. Flour Mills of Ghana (Gafco, Tema port) and Agricare in Kumasi (240 tonnes a day) also supply feed, and Akate Farms feed is made in Ashanti. No feed mill in Takoradi was found in this research. That does not prove there is none; visit and ask, and learn what farmers in your area now buy.

Why feed is a good business, and a hard one. Feed is about 70% of the cost of producing poultry, with maize about 50 to 55% and soybean about 30% of a poultry feed. A farm's profit depends on its feed. A small mill that is consistent, honest and close can win loyal customers. It can also lose everything to one bad batch.

Choose a legal form

Companies file an annual return (GH¢175 a year; late fees GH¢1,000 for 1 to 4 years and GH¢2,000 for 5 or more) and the first return is due 18 months after incorporation. A feed mill that carries credit, owns machines and may harm animals if a batch goes wrong should think hard about a company, because it limits what the owners can lose in a claim (teaching advice, not a legal opinion; ask a lawyer).

Registration steps

1. Tax number. Your Ghana Card number is your individual TIN since 1 April 2021. A company receives a GRA TIN after ORC registration.
2. ORC. Register the business name or company (fees above). The business-name renewal can be done on USSD *222#.
3. Assembly business operating permit. The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly runs a permit portal (tcc.stma.gov.gh) and its fees are in the 2025 fee-fixing resolution. A feed mill may need extra clearance for dust and noise; ask the Assembly's town planning and environmental health offices (not verified).
4. Environmental permit. The Environmental Protection Act 2025 (Act 1124) replaced Act 490 and renamed the regulator the Environmental Protection Authority. The EPA said in January 2026 that operating without a valid permit is an offence under Act 1124 and the Environmental Protection (Environmental Assessment) Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2504), and started a nationwide enforcement exercise. Which category a small feed mill falls in under the 2025 rules, and the fee, were not found: ask the EPA's Western Region office.
5. Fire. Ask the Ghana National Fire Service about a fire certificate for the premises.
6. Feed-specific duties. See the regulation table in Unit 4. In short: ask the Veterinary Services Directorate and the FDA in writing whether your mill, feeds, premixes or supplements must be registered, and whether selling veterinary medicines needs a separate licence. The FDA regulates veterinary medicines under Act 851, and animal feed was not in its list in the 2024 report. The FDA's 2023 fee schedule (L.I. 2481) lists registration of locally made food products at GH¢100 (micro) to GH¢500 (large) per annum, but do not assume this applies to animal feed; it was not verified.
7. Imports. If you import premix, amino acids or maize, apply for the MoFA e-permit.
8. Tax scheme. Choose the right scheme (below).
9. SSNIT employer registration before you hire.
10. Insurance. Use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission; check at nic.gov.gh. Which covers are compulsory was not verified. Ask about cover for stock, fire, machinery, goods in transit and public liability.

Tax choices for a feed business

• Modified Taxation Scheme (sole traders). If turnover is between GH¢20,001 and GH¢750,000 and you are not VAT-registered, you may pay 3% of turnover. Professionals, owners of several businesses and partners are excluded. GRA's own page still showed GH¢500,000 on 8 October 2026.
• VAT. VAT is 20% in total from 2026 (15% VAT plus 2.5% NHIL plus 2.5% GETFund) under the Value Added Tax Act 2025 (Act 1151). The registration threshold for goods is GH¢750,000 a year; a VAT-registered business cannot use the Modified Taxation Scheme. Whether compound animal feed is standard-rated, zero-rated or exempt was not verified: ask the GRA before you price or register.
• Companies. 25% standard company tax, or 18.5% for manufacturers in regional capitals other than Accra and Tema, which includes Takoradi. Whether a feed mill counts as a manufacturer for this rate: ask the GRA.
• Withholding. Large buyers (withholding agents) may withhold 3% of what they pay you for goods; ask for the withholding certificate and keep it.

Premises and location settings that give good returns

Start-up budget (all figures example)

Equipment prices are from Jiji Ghana asking prices on 8 October 2026: hammer mills GH¢4,000 to 29,000 (typical 7,000 to 18,500); a hammer mill with mixer GH¢16,000; flat-die pellet machines of 150 to 200 kg/h about GH¢9,000 to 15,600. Other lines are invented examples to replace with quotes.

(Arithmetic checked by script. Equipment: 16,000 + 12,000 + 1,500 + 1,500 + 1,800 + 2,200 + 1,500 + 1,500 = 38,000.)

Finance options

• Own savings and family, with a written agreement.
• Savings groups and susu for small stock loans (terms not verified).
• Microfinance and banks. The Bank of Ghana policy rate was 14.00%; loan rates were not verified. Banks will ask for records (see Unit 6).
• Ghana Enterprises Agency. Programmes include SME GO, Business-in-a-Box, SME High Growth and Kaizen, and Business Advisory Centres operate in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West. The GEA financial-support page was out of date.
• GIRSAL guarantees for agricultural loans through about 40 partner lenders.
• Ghana EXIM Bank for SME and export facilities, with a Takoradi office.
• 2026 Budget lines: GH¢401 million for a Women's Development Bank, GH¢170 million for a National Apprenticeship Programme, GH¢160 million for Adwumawura and GH¢110 million for the 24-Hour Economy. Ask each office how to apply; eligibility was not verified.
• Assemblies' funds for persons with disabilities. Ask your Assembly about disability funds and what percentage applies; the amount was not verified.

Hiring and supervising

Roles in a small mill: operator; helper and loader; quality and records clerk; driver; shop attendant. A good operator can read a formula sheet and weigh accurately; a good clerk can keep the batch and sales books.

Pay and law:

• The 2026 minimum wage is GH¢21.77 a day.
• Written contract for work of six months or more (section 12); written statement of terms within two months (section 13); 15 working days' paid leave (section 20); 12 weeks' maternity leave (section 57).
• SSNIT: worker 5.5% and employer 13% of basic pay, 18.5% in all; the employer pays by the 14th of the next month. Register the worker when hired.
• PAYE: monthly bands from 1 September 2026: the first GH¢588 at 0%, the next 80 at 5%, the next 100 at 10%, the next 2,900 at 17.5%, the next 16,000 at 25%, the next 30,332 at 30%, above that 35%, with SSNIT deducted first; due by the 15th.

Worked example (all pay figures example, 2026 rates). A worker earns GH¢1,200 basic a month. SSNIT deducted 5.5% × 1,200 = GH¢66.00. Taxable pay = 1,200 − 66 = GH¢1,134. PAYE: first 588 at 0 = 0; next 80 at 5% = 4.00; next 100 at 10% = 10.00; the rest, 1,134 − 768 = 366 at 17.5% = 64.05. PAYE = 4.00 + 10.00 + 64.05 = GH¢78.05. Net pay = 1,200 − 66.00 − 78.05 = GH¢1,055.95. The employer also pays 13% = GH¢156. Total employer cost = 1,200 + 156 = GH¢1,356. SSNIT to pay for the worker = 66 + 156 = GH¢222 (Tier 1 share and Tier 2 share per SSNIT FAQ).

Supervising safely. Train every worker on lock-out, dust, lifting and species locks before they touch a machine. Write the rules (cleaning, clean-out, labelling) and check them daily. Take on apprentices where you can: Ghana's 2026 budget includes a National Apprenticeship Programme.

Market yourself honestly

• WhatsApp Business: price list with pack sizes, photos of the bag and the mill, order and delivery details.
• A Google Business Profile with address, hours and phone, so farmers can find you.
• Signage at the road, a clear price board, printed bags.
• Farm demonstration: offer a small trial on a farmer's flock with records, and share the result with the farmer's agreement.
• Referrals: vets, hatcheries and agro-input dealers.
• Promises you can prove: show test results and batch records. Do not promise bigger eggs, faster growth or "no deaths".

Accessibility

Ghana's Disability Act (Act 715) bans discrimination against persons with disabilities, though access to public facilities remains poor. In your mill and shop: ramps and level floors between zones; a seated weighing, bagging and labelling station; bag labels with large print and colour and tactile marks for species (for example one colour band for sheep-safe feed); visual and sound alarms on machines; written and spoken instructions; records, sales and quality jobs open to everyone. Include a person with a disability when you design the layout.

Competency standard

Range. One month of real or example records. Evidence. Books; stock sheet; statements; reconciliation; break-even; forecast.

The records

Keep records in Ghana for at least 6 years from the end of the year of assessment or VAT period. Assets = liabilities + owner's equity. A debit increases assets and expenses; a credit increases liabilities, capital and income; a trial balance is a partial check, because some errors do not show. Small businesses' accounts follow IFRS for SMEs, with a new edition from 1 January 2027.

A cash book page (all figures example)

Opening balance on 1 October: GH¢27,000.

Check: 27,000 − 20,400 + 10,400 − 7,700 + 15,600 − 120 − 1,500 = 23,280 ✓. Count the actual cash and the MoMo balance at the end of each day. If the book and the cash differ, find out why the same day.

Stock valuation

Stock is a large part of a feed business. Value it consistently. Two common ways (teaching explanation):

• FIFO (first in, first out): the oldest purchases are used first, so the closing stock is valued at the latest prices.
• Weighted average: all purchases are averaged.

Worked example (all figures example). Maize: opening 5,000 kg at GH¢3.20; bought 10,000 kg at GH¢3.40; bought 8,000 kg at GH¢3.60. Total 23,000 kg costing 16,000 + 34,000 + 28,800 = GH¢78,800. The mill used 15,000 kg; 8,000 kg remain.

When prices rise, FIFO gives a lower cost and a higher profit than the average method. Pick one method, write it in your books and keep to it. Check with your accountant which method the tax authority will accept (not verified here). Count the stock physically at least monthly with a scale, bag by bag, and compare it with the stock sheet. A difference is loss, theft, moisture or error.

Cost of goods, margin and mark-up

Use the layer feed from Unit 1 (example): ingredients GH¢219.11 per 50 kg bag, plus sack, thread and label GH¢4 and production power GH¢3 = GH¢226.11 direct cost per bag. Selling price GH¢260 per bag (example).

Margin and mark-up are not the same. Margin is a percentage of the selling price; mark-up is a percentage of cost. A 20% mark-up gives only a 16.7% margin. Be clear which you mean when you talk to a bank.

Formulation cost tracking

Prices change weekly. Track cost every week with a formulation cost sheet: each formula, the date, the price used for each ingredient, the cost per tonne and per bag, and the selling price.

Price pass-through (example). Maize rises from GH¢3.40 to GH¢3.80 per kg. The layer formula has 59.10 kg of maize per 100 kg: extra cost = 59.10 × 0.40 = GH¢23.64 per 100 kg = GH¢11.82 per 50 kg bag. New direct cost = 226.11 + 11.82 = GH¢237.93. To keep GH¢33.89 profit per bag the price must rise to GH¢271.82. If you hold the price at GH¢260, profit falls to GH¢22.07 per bag and the gross margin to 8.5%. Run the formulation software again at each big price change: it may find a cheaper mix, but only within the nutrition limits.

Debtors, credit and bad debts

Selling on credit is how most mills lose money. In October (example), 120 of the 400 bags (30%) were sold on credit: GH¢31,200.

Rules: written credit terms (limit, days, a deposit, a signed delivery note); call at day 25; no new credit when an old bill is past 30 days; stop selling to a customer who is late twice. Keep a small allowance for bad debts (for example 2% of what is owed: GH¢624 here, example). E-VAT invoices can be verified by QR code.

Worked month: October (all figures example)

Break-even

Reconciliation: MoMo and bank

At the end of each week, match your MoMo and bank books to the statements line by line. Example: the MoMo book shows GH¢52,000 received in October; the statement shows GH¢51,480 after charges of GH¢520. Record the charge as an expense (bank and MoMo charges), then the book and statement agree at GH¢51,480. A difference that cannot be found is a warning sign: write it down and investigate before it grows.

Taxes in the books

• PAYE and SSNIT: see the worked example in Unit 5. PAYE by the 15th and SSNIT by the 14th of the next month. SSNIT late payment is charged at 3% a month.
• VAT: if you register, charge VAT on sales, claim it back on purchases and return the difference by the last working day of the next month. Example only, if your feed were standard-rated and your input VAT were GH¢8,000: output VAT on GH¢104,000 sales at 20% = GH¢20,800; input VAT GH¢8,000; pay GH¢12,800. This is arithmetic practice: the VAT status of compound feed was not verified, and many farm inputs may be treated differently. Ask the GRA.
• Withholding tax: large buyers may withhold 3% of the payment for goods; keep the certificate and deduct it from your tax.
• Income tax: sole traders pay under the Modified Taxation Scheme only if turnover is up to GH¢750,000 and they are not VAT-registered. Annual turnover of about GH¢1.25 million (12 × GH¢104,000) is above both thresholds, so this example business would need VAT registration and could not use the Modified Taxation Scheme.
• Companies: quarterly provisional tax (end March, June, September, December) and an annual return within four months after the year end.

Software and the calendar

Use a spreadsheet, or a free plan such as Zoho Books or Wave.

Month-end routine

Competency standard

Range. Own business plan. Evidence. Business plan; contract outline; cash forecast; pitch.

The Ghana feed market

• The poultry sector is under pressure: feed is about 70% of production cost, and a Poultry Sector Master Plan consultation in February 2026 aimed at a tenfold increase in output while frozen chicken held about 95% of the market. The Rearing for Food and Jobs programme (2017) aimed to cut chicken imports (outcome not verified).
• Large feed makers: De Heus Ghana (Koudijs), Flour Mills of Ghana and Agricare. A small mill cannot beat them on price per tonne. It can beat them on closeness, speed, special feeds (for example sheep-safe, breeder, small-batch pig starter), advice and trust.
• Ghana's own feed rules are still forming (Unit 4). Being ready early is an advantage.

Quality system and customer care

• Keep the retained sample, batch record and test results for every batch.
• Visit customers' farms; look at the animals; ask for records (deaths, eggs, weights). Compare with the breeder's tables: for example Hy-Line W-36 expects about 95 to 97% peak lay and feed conversion of 1.81 to 1.94, and Cobb 500 broilers reach about 2.5 kg by day 35 with cumulative feed conversion of 1.44.
• Log every complaint; reply within a day; check the batch and the farm's feeding, water and health before blaming anyone; fix and tell the farmer what you found.
• Never argue a medical diagnosis. Refer to a veterinarian.

Pricing strategy

• Cost-plus: cost per bag from the formulation cost sheet, plus a margin that covers overheads and growth.
• Check the market: what the big mills charge for the same stage.
• Volume and loyalty: discounts for larger or prepaid orders (a prepayment lowers your credit risk).
• Be clear: a dated price list with pack sizes, and a rule that prices follow the maize price.
• Do not cut quality to cut price: if you must lower price, lower your margin, not the formula.

Scale carefully

1. Fix the quality and the books first.
2. Add a second mixer or batch time before a bigger mill.
3. Add pelleting when customers will pay for it.
4. Add bulk delivery for larger farms.
5. Add a laboratory corner (moisture, sieves, mixer test), and send samples to a laboratory.
6. Consider automation (Unit 3) only after the payback test.

Partnerships, contracts and tenders

Partners: hatcheries, veterinarians, farmer groups, cooperatives, ingredient suppliers (maize aggregators, palm oil mills, fish processors), transporters, and the GEA Business Advisory Centre.

A supply contract should say: parties; product, stage and pack size; price or price formula (for example linked to a maize price index); delivery; payment terms and any deposit; quality and a right to test; returns and complaints; what happens if a batch is wrong; who pays for transport; start and end dates; termination; and how disputes are settled. Have a lawyer check any large contract.

Public tenders. Government and institutional buyers may buy feed by tender. The rules, registration and thresholds of Ghana's public procurement system were not verified for this module: ask the Public Procurement Authority and read the tender document carefully. Prepare your TIN, company registration, tax clearance, references and samples early.

Records for loans. Banks and funders want: registration papers; 12 months of bank or MoMo statements; profit and loss and balance sheet; stock and debtors lists; a cash-flow forecast; and a plan. Keep them in one folder.

Ethics and succession

• Never sell a batch that failed its tests. Never claim what you cannot prove (for example "no antibiotics", "cures disease", "doubles eggs").
• Never sell feed meant for one species as another; never leave off a warning.
• Pay suppliers and workers on time and fairly; treat apprentices as people to train.
• Report problems to customers early.
• Succession: write down who runs the business if you are ill or away; train them; keep formulas, supplier contacts and passwords somewhere safe; update the will and the company papers.

A 12-month cash forecast (all figures example)

The assumptions: the business of Unit 6; the price is GH¢260 per bag and the direct cost GH¢226.11; 30% of sales on credit, collected the next month; fixed cash costs GH¢6,262 a month (rent, wages and employer SSNIT, fuel, phone, shop power, repairs); drawings GH¢3,000 a month; GH¢2,000 for permits and renewals in month 3; a second mixer GH¢8,500 in month 7; opening cash GH¢27,000. Materials and power are paid in the month they are used (stock stays level). Tax and depreciation are left out of the cash flow. (Arithmetic checked by script.)

Reading the forecast.

• Year total: 6,290 bags; sales GH¢1,635,400.
• Gross profit = 6,290 × 33.89 = GH¢213,168. Fixed costs including depreciation = 12 × 6,895 = GH¢82,740. Permits GH¢2,000. Profit before tax = GH¢128,428.
• Month 1 is dangerous: cash falls to GH¢94. One late customer would stop the mill. A deposit scheme, shorter credit, a bank overdraft or a smaller first stock would fix it.
• Month 7 shows the pinch from buying equipment (cash falls even though sales rise).
• Month 12 sales fall because of a seasonal dip (example), but debtors from month 11 are collected, so cash rises.
• Turnover of about GH¢1.6 million is above the GH¢750,000 VAT threshold for goods, so VAT questions arrive in the first year. Companies pay 25% tax, or 18.5% for manufacturers in a regional capital such as Takoradi. If the business were a company taxed at 18.5% (ask the GRA), tax on GH¢128,428 would be about GH¢23,759 (example).
• Test the forecast: what if sales are 20% lower? What if maize rises 12%? What if your largest customer pays 60 days late?

Business ideas

Capstone

Present to a panel: a one-page business plan and a 12-month cash forecast. Include a formulation cost sheet, a quality plan, a registration checklist and a risk list.

1. What are the three parts of a least-cost linear-programming model?
2. A shadow price of zero on a lysine rule means what?
3. A formula's lysine requirement is 0.79%, and the combined standard deviation is 0.03 points. What target, at 95% confidence, do you formulate to?
4. A laboratory reports crude protein of 18.0% on dry matter. The feed is 90% dry matter. What is the as-fed value?
5. Why can crude protein from Kjeldahl nitrogen be misleading in a feed with urea?
6. Why must an NIR instrument be checked against wet chemistry?
7. A mixer test gives a CV of 9%. Name two causes you will check.
8. Name three things that must be on a feed bag label.
9. Name two species locks and what each protects against.
10. An automatic line costs GH¢48,000 and saves GH¢16,000 a year net. What is the payback?
11. A feed costs GH¢226 per bag and sells at GH¢260. What are the margin and the mark-up?
12. Name three things a 12-month feed-mill cash forecast must show.

Best next reads: the breeder management guides for your strain (Hy-Line, Lohmann, Ross, Cobb); the NRC nutrient requirement books for each species; Feedipedia (feedipedia.org) for ingredient composition; the Codex Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding; the FAO feed safety resources; the Hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 manuals.

What this module does not cover: designing a full industrial pelleting plant, formulating ruminant diets with a ruminant-nutrition software package, laboratory method details, export licensing and audited accounts. Get specialist help for these. It also gives no medicine doses.

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.