REDKEY, INDIANA, U.S. — Bell Aquaculture announced on Feb. 25 plans to open a feed mill to supply feed for the local and national aquaculture industry. The new mill, located at Bell Farms in Albany, Indiana, U.S., will produce feed to service the aquaculture industry on a mass scale using local Indiana ingredients.  

Scott Nelson of Integral Fish Foods, recently purchased by Bell, will be the head of operations for the mill. Nelson brings 30 years of experience in fish feed production, and will provide Bell with the expertise to produce feeds specific to fish species and key periods in the life cycle of the fish.

The mill is expected to begin production this April with a production capacity of 2.2 million pounds per month, sourcing 50%-60% of ingredients locally. 

"Our mill will benefit the county and the state by providing jobs and increasing demand for locally produced soybeans and grains, while also providing feed to support the growing local aquaculture industry, " said Norman McCowan, president and chief executive officer of Bell Aquaculture. 

The mill is expected to generate up to 25 new jobs over the next 36 months, while reducing the need for local aquaculture industry to source feed from remote locations, thereby completing a cycle of sustainable aquaculture for local supply and demand.

"The opportunity for aquaculture is immense. We have needed this mill in Indiana to have the ability to source feed locally for quite some time,” said Indiana Soybean Alliance President Dave Lowe. “There are thousands of tons of ingredients for feed within a very short distance of Bell. It is time that the general population, counties and state benefit from the tax base and revenue stream that this mill will provide."

In 2005, Bell Aquaculture was founded in Redkey, Indiana, U.S. as a solution to the problem of contaminated fish in Lake Michigan. Bell has invested $20+ million in an aquaculture research and development center and built a state-of-the-aquaculture facility located in rural Indiana, to provide a toxin-free supply of fish to meet the demand. 

Bell offers trout, salmon, perch, feed and fertilizers that are derived from fish to contribute to the lifecycle of humans and fish - part of our broader philosophy to use all that is available to us to benefit to humanity and our planet.