The rumble of feed trucks and a steady hum of augers bid a friendly welcome at IFA’s North Region Feed Mill. Nestled along the railroad tracks in Trenton, Utah, North Region Feed is one of four IFA-operated mills where co-op members source local, reliable livestock feeds.
A quality feed starts with quality ingredients and a successful mill starts with quality leadership. Alex Anderson has more than 15 years of experience in the livestock nutrition industry and is now a director of IFA feed production as Branch Manager of the North Region Feed Mill. This livestock nutrition industry expert offers a behind-the-scenes peek at the local feed mill production process.
From Cache Commodities to IFA
Anderson began working for IFA in December of 2022, but before joining the cooperative’s feed division, Anderson worked for Cache Commodities, another Intermountain West livestock feed mill based in Ogden Utah.
During his career with Cache Commodities, Anderson took on many different roles. He started as a feed sales consultant and then finished as the feed mill’s operations manager. Taking on various roles at Cache Commodities helped Anderson gain valuable experience at many feed mill production, sales, and distribution levels. Anderson believes performing these tasks helped him transition into his role with IFA.
“Understanding all the sides of feed production — how to mix and transport feed — are very similar, it’s just a much larger scale at IFA,” Anderson says.
In 2022, IFA acquired the Cache Commodities business. Anderson and several other Cache Commodities employees joined the transition. Anderson became part of the IFA team as a Feed Sales Representative, but soon after was asked to manage operations at the North Region Feed Mill. Then in December of 2023, he accepted the responsibilities of Branch Manager over the mill.
Team Work: Crafting IFA’s Quality Livestock Feeds
As the branch manager, Anderson oversees feed production at the mill. This is no small feat when the North Region mill produces an average of 10,000 tons of bulk feed and 1,150 tons of bagged feed per month. Luckily, Anderson says he has a great team of supervisors who help him keep things running smoothly.
“I'm really lucky,” Anderson says. “I have really good supervisors that help with the day-to-day, so I spend my day working on the big picture items to help make the daily tasks easier.”
Everything from managing and sequencing orders, to coordinating deliveries is essential in ensuring IFA’s co-op members get the quality feeds they need on time. Anderson says that finding ways to make daily tasks more efficient and empowering his team all help keep the feed mill running.
Anderson feels that IFA is good at providing him and the feed mill with the resources to be successful. One advantage Anderson has noticed since transitioning to IFA is the diversity of services and divisions within the cooperative.
“I've enjoyed having the support of other divisions as well as the people around me and above me,” Anderson says. He feels supported by IFA’s board of directors and the senior team and division managers. Thanks to this support, Anderson says he has seen resources invested back into the operation with major mill improvements over the last year that helped make North Region Feed more efficient.
One improvement Anderson is anticipating is the addition of eight new overhead bins that will more than double the capacity of finished feed that the north region mill can hold. The co-op also put in a new pellet mill at the end of 2024, which has increased the quality and quantity of pellet feeds produced at the mill.
“These improvements allow us to make a better, more quality feed,” Anderson says. “We can make a better quality product that's safer, more efficient and ready on time so that co-op members don’t have to wait as long for their loads.”
Helping co-op members by providing them with the best product at the time they need it is a top priority for Anderson. He believes that IFA is a great example of a successful cooperative because each division focuses on the members’ success.
“Seeing the success of the co-op and understanding how a co-op works for the members is rewarding,” Anderson says. “When we're successful, we give back to the co-op members, and seeing that return go back to them, encourages me to want to stay.”
Safety First: Feed Mill Sequencing and Safety Protocols
Producing a safe and nutritious feed product is the ultimate goal of each IFA feed mill. At North Region Feed, Anderson and his team ensure the feeds they produce are safe and of the best quality by adhering to IFA’s strict quality protocols and standards.
“If we're not producing quality feed or we’re not producing it safely, there can be potentially deadly consequences,” Anderson says. “We want to ensure that we're following those protocols and being safe so we produce a safe feed at the proper levels and provide the proper nutrition.”
Sequencing is one of the safety protocols that the feed mill adheres to daily. The strict scheduling protocols determine what feed formulas can be mixed before and after another feed and when a thorough wash or flush is needed between mixes.
“Different species can be affected by mineral and vitamin levels,” Anderson says. “For example, copper in sheep is lethal at certain levels so following a high copper mix with a sheep feed is potentially lethal to lambs or sheep and the same for vitamin D and rabbits.”
Sequencing helps the mills prevent possible cross-contamination of feeds. Following drug and mineral protocols and proper sequencing is a high priority for Anderson and his team. By ensuring sequencing is done correctly and adhering to thorough safety guidelines, IFA feed mills can ensure the safety and quality of the produced feeds.
A Lifetime in Agriculture
Producing quality feeds and working with livestock growers is just a part of life for Anderson who has spent a lifetime in the agriculture industry. Anderson was raised just down the road in Cache Valley on his family’s cow-calf operation.
“We raise beef cattle and grow enough grass hay to be mostly self-sufficient,” says Anderson who enjoyed growing up on the farm and still helps run the family’s herd of 35 cows today.
Besides helping on the farm, Anderson is also involved in livestock shows. As a teenager and young adult, Anderson showed his steers at the local county fair and helped a family friend who raised registered Hereford cattle at local state fairs and national Herford shows.
Today, Anderson continues to be involved in the livestock show world as the proud parent of a youth livestock exhibitor. Anderson’s daughter, Haidyn, followed in her father’s footsteps showing steers and lambs at local and state fairs and jackpot shows.
“I enjoy taking my daughter out to different shows and helping her learn and watching her succeed,” Anderson says.
As an IFA feed team member, it’s no surprise that Anderson and his daughter choose IFA’s Platinum Show Feeds for her show animals. Haidyn is also a member of the IFA Young Producer’s program where she receives discounts on her IFA feed purchases and has access to IFA clinics and feed seminars.
Anderson still enjoys working on the family farm and working with cows. He enjoys watching young animals develop into mature animals and says that helping animals develop with proper nutrition is one of the things he likes most about working in agriculture.
“I enjoy the community and the people that come with it,” Anderson says. “I love the lifestyle and the culture within the industry and being able to see how an animal develops and how we can do things to help them develop in different ways that let them improve.”
IFA is grateful for Anderson and the wealth of feed and animal experience he brings to our cooperative. Co-op members interested in IFA’s feed and nutrition services or a custom bulk feed are invited to contact their IFA Feed and Nutrition Sales Representative. Learn about IFA bulk and bagged feeds and meet the IFA animal nutrition experts behind the formulas by visiting IFA.coop/feed-nutrition.
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Written by Mikyla Bagley, IFA Content Writer, and originally published in the IFA Cooperator magazine (vol. 91, no. 1) Spring 2025.
Mikyla Bagley is a fifth-generation rancher actively involved in her family’s cattle operation. She holds a deep respect for the wisdom and management practices of the farmers and ranchers who have crossed her path, both because of her family operation and otherwise. A deep desire to remain connected to the agriculture industry drove Mikyla to earn her BIS in Agriculture Science and Communication from Southern Utah University. She continues to be involved in her family’s operation while using her degree and life-long experience as IFA’s Content Specialist sharing the experiences and wisdom of IFA experts and Co-op Members.
“The agriculture community is filled with genuine and hard-working men and women whose passion for their lifestyle deserves to be shared. I look forward to helping highlight both their stories and expertise alongside IFA.”
—Mikyla Bagley