Feed mills: A note to integrators

Integrator feed mill personnel are often instructed not to talk to vendors. The thinking is that sales people take up valuable time and that they might steal company secrets. But in building a wall to keep out bad ones, the wall also keeps out the good ones, who could actually provide valuable information that could improve feed mill operations. I supervised integrator mills but never subscribed to building the wall. Instead, we leaned on vendors, equipment specialists, and industry contacts.