RICHI Alfalfa Pellet Production Line Commissioned in United States

The California Central Valley in December is not what most visitors expect. Gray skies, occasional rain, fields either fallow or green with winter crops. But the alfalfa growers are already planning next season's cuttings, and the new 15t/h alfalfa pellet production line in Merced County will be ready when the first harvest comes off in April.

Market Background

Alfalfa occupies a strange position in American agriculture. It's not a commodity crop like corn or soybeans—no futures market, no government programs—but it's essential to the dairy industry that supplies the nation's milk and cheese. California dairies alone consume millions of tons annually, much of it shipped from other states when local production falls short.

Pelleted alfalfa offers advantages over baled. It flows through feed systems without manual handling. It stores in less space. It delivers consistent nutrition because leaves and stems are uniformly blended rather than separated as in bales. And it can be formulated with additives—molasses for palatability, minerals for specific deficiencies—that improve animal performance.

Raw Material and Process Considerations

Freshly cut alfalfa arrives at the plant in bales stacked on flatbed trucks. Moisture content varies by cutting—first cutting typically higher, later cuttings drier—and by weather at harvest. The process must adjust accordingly.

The critical constraint is temperature. Overheat alfalfa during drying or pelleting, and protein degrades. Digestibility drops. The feed loses value. RICHI's design incorporates temperature monitoring throughout the process, with automatic adjustments to dryer residence time and pellet mill feed rate when sensors detect approaching limits.

Line Design and Equipment

The Merced County line includes:

• Raw material intake and pre-cutting for breaking bales
• Hammer mill with screens sized for alfalfa's stem-and-leaf structure
• Rotary dryer with temperature profiling and automated control
• CZLH series forage grass pellet machine configured for alfalfa's compression characteristics
• Counterflow cooler with ambient air modulation
• Vibrating screen for fines separation
• Automatic bagging and palletizing for finished product

The grass alfalfa pellet making machine uses dies with compression ratios specific to alfalfa—different from grass or corn stover because alfalfa's protein content affects binding. Roller pressure is adjustable during operation, allowing fine-tuning without stopping production.

Installation and Commissioning

Equipment arrived in November, timed for the winter installation window when California construction crews have availability. Mechanical assembly took four weeks, electrical another three. Commissioning ran through December, with trial production confirming the line's ability to maintain 6 tons per hour across varied feedstock.

The customer's quality lab tests every shift's production for protein, moisture, and pellet durability. Initial results show consistent performance within specification—pellets that will flow through automated feeding systems without bridging or breaking.

Benefits and Industry Impact

For the customer, the line provides product consistency that baled alfalfa cannot match. For their dairy customers, it means predictable nutrition and reduced labor. For RICHI Machinery, the project establishes a reference in the US forage market, where equipment decisions often hinge on demonstrated performance at existing installations.