Harsh winter takes toll on ADM, India wastes 30% of foodgrain, Portable NIR grain testing, Mühlenchemie starts production in India, Horizon mill upgrade

Harsh winter hurts ADM Q1 earnings ​

Archer Daniels Midland’s (ADM) first-quarter earnings fell to $267 million from $269m a year earlier due to harsh winter weather that affected trading operations. 

The company reported adjusted earnings of 55¢ per share, up from 46¢ per share in the same period last year. Segment operating profit was $691m, up 10% from the year-ago period. Adjusted segment operating profit was $780m, up 17% from the year-ago period. 

Milling and other results declined $8m to $51m as a lack of the seasonal carry in the wheat futures market reduced grain and feed merchandising opportunities. Corn Processing’s operating profit increased $64m to $261m on strong results from ethanol.

“Our businesses delivered mixed results in the first quarter,”​ said ADM chairman and CEO Patricia Woertz. “Our Ag Services business again generated weak results due to a low margin environment as well as logistics and weather challenges in the US.”​

India wastes 30% of annual foodgrain production: ASSOCHAM​

Roughly 20-30% of total foodgrain harvest in India is wasted annually due to poor storage facilities, according to a joint study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Yes Bank.

Factors contributing to these numbers include unprofessional storage of 30-40% of foodgrain during peak marketing season in India, inadequate storage capacity, regional imbalance in warehouses, lack of adequate scientific storage and inefficient logistic.

Despite that the warehousing capacity for major foodgrains available in exceeds 112m tons, there is a dearth of about 35m tons of warehousing capacity and a massive foodgrain storage shortfall of about 8m tons in the country to be filled by 2017.

“India needs to recalibrate its strategy to mitigate the challenges of high food grain wastage due to lack of scientific storage facilities,”​ ASSOCHAM wrote, adding that many modern warehouses do not meet international standards.

Total foodgrain production in India stands at around 255 MT, which includes around 105 Mt rice (milled basis). In 2012, the government claimed that the state foodgrains buying agency, the Food Corp. of India (FCI), reduced foodgrains waste from 2.5% five years ago to 0.006% in 2012 despite the 150% growth in foodgrain stocks during the period.

Perton Inframatic grain analyzer a ‘first’ for farmers​

Near-infrared (NIR) grain testing has been a fixture at large elevators and grain processors for years. Perton Instruments developed Inframatic 8800, a portable, accurate, cost-effective instrument for on-farm grain analysis. The Inframatic uses solid state components and diode array technology meaning no moving optical components. The lack of moving parts enables instruments to be aligned and matched at the factory, ensuring accuracy, repeatability and reproducibility.

The Inframatic 8800 is also small, lightweight and can be operated for up to two hours on its internal battery. It incorporates a GPS allowing farmers to identify pockets of high-value grain. These results can be plotted on a map allowing farmers to plan harvest and binning strategies. The rapid analysis (moisture and protein results in less than 90 seconds) provides nearly instantaneous analyses helping users to control grain drying, perform field and load-out spot checks, and determine optimal harvest times.

“The IM 8800 is really a first for farmers. Its accuracy is similar to instruments used at elevators, but is economical enough for farm use,”​ said business area manager Henrik Andrén. “The instrument allows farmers to identify their highest value grain and to take advantage of the premiums paid for malting barley and high-protein wheat.”​

Mühlenchemie expands milling ops to India​

German company Mühlenchemie GmbH & Co. opened a new development and production facility in Umbergam, Gujarat, north of Mumbai, India in order to better meet the individual demands of the Indian milling industry, which is dominated by small and medium sized milling operations run as family businesses.

In addition to a trial bakery and production plant for enzyme and vitamin blends and baking premixes, the facility, called the Stern Ingredients Technology and Innovation Centre will adjust the solutions developed in Germany to more precisely meet the needs of the local market. The research and development work will be carried out at the Technology Centre of the company’s German headquarters in Ahrensburg, just outside Hamburg. 

Biren Palani, managing director and partner of Stern Ingredients India, will manage the production plant. Philipp Gertzen will serve as general manager India, commercial, and Uttam Waykar, formerly of Salalah Mills in Oman, will be in charge of production and the laboratory.

Horizon Albany miller getting $7m upgrade​

Horizon Milling LLC, a joint venture flour milling business between Cargill and CHS, is investing $7m to upgrade its mill in the Port of Albany.

As part of the move, Horizon Milling plans to add a new packaging line, a 10-spout stainless steel packer and a storage tower. The investment in the new machinery is expected to increase bags of flour per minute by one-third, Horizon Milling said.

The Albany flour mill has daily wheat flour capacity of 23,500 cwts and storage capacity of 1.1 million bushels. Horizon Milling operates 21 other mills.