The GrainHub team is always looking for new and improved ways to support domestic growers and farmers.

Grainhub, a leading New Zealand-owned stock food provider, has further stepped up its market reach with the addition of premium loose blend stock food mixes tailored to meet the needs of the dairy sector.

Based in the Waikato region, GrainHub has grown from strength to strength since launching in September 2018 as a manufacturer and supplier of top quality pelletized products for the sheep, goat, dairy cow and dry stock farm markets.

Drying, storage, processing and manufacturing operations are carried out at GrainHub’s main base in Tuakau, which employs a team of 12, complemented with blending sites in Woodville and New Plymouth.

GrainHub has built a strong and loyal following in North Island rural markets with its quality pellet range and popular seasonal boosters like GrainHub Calf, designed for high performance and to assist in weaning calves faster. The GrainHub team is always looking for newand improved ways to support domestic growers and farmers. That innovation mindset has recently led to the development of their new loose blend range for the dairy market.

“We wanted to cover more bases by not just offering pellet delivery to the silo,” explainsGrainHub Managing Director Darren Edwards. “By offering this larger product range, including options like DDG and palm kernel blends, it just means we can better meet the needs of thelocal market. We have developed set loose blend options, but with some variation available. For example, if it doesn’t meet the price point we can put in a lower cost ingredient if needed. All three of our sites – including our mixing operation in New Plymouth, run for us by a third party - are now producing loose blends to complement our pellet plant.”

At Tuakau, a 2000sqm storage shed has been converted into a facility for the loose blend operation with new machinery installed to support production. GrainHub hit the ground running with planned annual production of loose blend product expected to be around 12,000 tonnes. Prior to this, pellet production at Tuakau was already at around 14,000 tonnes a year. Along with the new loose blends, GrainHub has a new website that goes hand in hand with a refreshed social media presence.

Supporting the sales and marketing of stock food including blended products is their new sales rep, Vicky Ridley.

“We also have a fantastic operations manager on site, Deane Gage, who started eight or nine months ago. He has introduced a four-day on/ three-day off system, which is exciting for our crew.

We’re finding it much easier to employ people there now as people really enjoy having three days off a week. They work extended hours on their workdays, with two alternating shifts.” GrainHub has storage silos on site at Tuakauwith enough capacity for some 20,000 tonnes of maize. The company has been actively building their grower base throughout the Waikato and Auckland area over the past few years.

“We’ve just finished our maize drying season. It has been difficult because of the wet conditions and growers have found that hard as well but we have all the raw ingredients we need.”

GrainHub’s stringent grain processing and handling procedures are FeedSafe NZ accredited and audited to industry standards.