Hey there, pellet producers, small farm operators, and anyone who’s ever stared at a lumpy, inconsistent batch of feed or fuel pellets and thought, “There’s gotta be a way to make this better.” As someone who’s spent the last decade tweaking, troubleshooting, and selling pellet mill machines (yes, that’s me—your go-to for all things pellet-making gear), I get it. You already know that picking the right pellet mill is half the battle, but the other half? Adding the right additives to your mix before it hits the die is what turns a so-so pellet into one that runs smooth, doesn’t crumble mid-process, and actually does what you need it to do—whether that’s fattening up livestock, heating a home, or powering a small generator. Pellet Mill Machine
Today, I’m breaking down the additives I actually recommend (and the ones I’d skip) based on what I’ve seen work for customers ranging from a 50-acre cow farm in Iowa to a small wood pellet shop in upstate New York. No stuffy industry jargon, no confusing charts—just real talk about what you can toss into your mash before it goes through your pellet mill.
First, let’s get one thing straight: additives aren’t “magic dust.” They’re ingredients that target specific pain points, and you’ve gotta use the right amount. Add too much, and you’ll clog your die, waste money, or end up with pellets that smell off. Too little, and you’re back to picking up crumbs off the floor of your storage bin. I’ve watched new customers overdo molasses once and end up with a sticky mess that got stuck in their roller die—cost them an hour of downtime and a pile of ruined feed pellets. So keep that in mind as we go.
First up, the ones I swear by for feed pellets (since that’s the biggest use case for most of my customers): binders. If you’re making livestock or pet feed, you need pellets that hold together long enough to get to the feeder, not crumble into fine powder that blows away or gets left uneaten. The top binder for feed? Lignosulfonates. They’re a byproduct of paper manufacturing, super affordable, and work like a charm—usually at a rate of 1-3% of your total mix. I had a pig farmer in Ohio switch from using clay (the old-school go-to) to lignosulfonates last year, and he cut his pellet loss by 40% and spent way less time cleaning crumbs out of his feed troughs. Pro tip: If you’re making organic feed, look for food-grade lignosulfonates—they don’t have any weird chemicals and are totally compliant with organic certification rules.
Another binder that works well, especially for smaller operations or home pellet makers? Bentonite clay. It’s a natural mineral, cheap, and super easy to source. Just don’t overdo it—more than 2% and your feed will taste like dirt, and your animals might turn their noses up at it. I recommend bentonite for folks who are just starting out, because it’s hard to mess up if you measure right.
Now, if you’re making fuel pellets (wood, sawdust, straw, that sort of thing), binders are still key, but the rules change a little. For fuel pellets, I usually tell customers to stick with wood-based binders if they want to keep the fuel value high. That means things like starch, either corn starch or potato starch, which are super effective at holding sawdust together without adding any extra weight that would reduce the heat output. Starch works great for straw pellets too—straw is super fibrous and tends to crumble, so 2-4% starch will turn it into a pellet that burns hot and doesn’t leave a bunch of ash. One of my wood pellet customers in Vermont uses locally sourced potato starch, and their pellets have almost zero dust, which is a big deal for homeowners with pellet stoves. They hate dealing with fine ash all over their garage.
Next up, lubricants. This is where I see a lot of new pellet mill users get tripped up. The pellet mill die and rollers need to move smoothly, otherwise you’ll get friction, overheating, and dead pellets that don’t extrude right. The wrong lubricant will clog the die or leave residue that ruins the quality of your product. For feed pellets, vegetable oils (canola, soybean, sunflower) are the way to go—they’re natural, safe for animals, and work as a lubricant at 1-2% of your mix. I don’t recommend mineral oils for feed, because they’re not digestible and can cause issues with livestock digestion. For fuel pellets, vegetable oils work too, but sometimes I tell customers to use wood waste-based oils if they want to keep the fuel all-natural. Just don’t use too much oil—over 3% and your fuel pellets will be too slimy, hard to store, and might not burn as clean.
Wait, what about molasses? I know a lot of people swear by molasses for feed pellets because it makes them taste better, which is great for palatability (especially for things like horses or show animals). But here’s the catch: molasses is super sticky, so you have to add it at the right time, usually after you’ve pre-conditioned your mash with steam. If you add it before conditioning, it’ll make your mash clump up, clog your pre-conditioner, and mess up the pellet mill die. I recommend molasses at 2-5% for feed, but only if you’re making feed for animals that actually like sweet stuff—chickens, for example, don’t care as much, so you’re just wasting money adding molasses to their feed. That’s a mistake I see all the time.
Now, let’s talk about additives that solve specific problems, not just “make pellets hold together.” For feed pellets, if you’re dealing with mould or bacteria, especially if you’re storing pellets for more than a few weeks, you can add mild organic preservatives like propionic acid (food-grade, of course) at a rate of 0.1-0.3%. It’s not harmful to animals, and it keeps your pellets from going bad in humid climates—super important for farmers in the Southeast, where summer humidity can turn feed pellets into a mouldy mess. I had a customer in Georgia last year who lost an entire batch of feed because he skipped the preservative, and after that, he added propionic acid every time—said it paid for itself in one batch.
For fuel pellets, if you’re noticing too much ash when they burn, you can add a small amount of calcium carbonate (that’s just ground limestone) at 1-2%. It helps reduce the acidic ash that can clog pellet stove burners, which is a huge win for homeowners. I also sometimes suggest anti-static agents for fuel pellets, especially if you’re bagging them in plastic bags—static can make the pellets stick together or make them hard to pour. A tiny bit of food-grade anti-static spray (or even a touch of vegetable oil, if you don’t want to buy special stuff) works.
Wait, let’s talk about what NOT to add, because that’s as important as what you SHOULD add. A lot of new pellet mill users think adding random stuff like sugar or sand will make their pellets better, and that’s a no-go. Sugar will make pellets sticky and attract pests like rodents, which is bad for storage. Sand, obviously, will make feed pellets taste bad and wear out your pellet mill die way faster—dies are expensive, and sand will chew through them in weeks instead of years. Also, avoid any harsh chemicals unless you’re 100% sure they’re safe for your end product and won’t mess up your pellet mill. I had a customer once add a cheap industrial adhesive to his wood pellets, and it left a toxic residue that made the smoke smell weird—he had to scrap the entire batch and clean his entire mill for a week. Don’t be that guy.
Now, a quick note on how to actually add these additives, because even the best additive is useless if you add it wrong. The key is to mix it evenly throughout your mash, so every pellet has the right amount. For small operations (like home pellet makers with a small mill), you can just toss the additives in with your raw materials and mix by hand or with a basic drum mixer. For larger operations with commercial pellet mills, I always recommend a ribbon blender or a continuous mixing system that adds additives evenly while the raw materials are moving. And for liquid additives (like molasses or oil), make sure you apply them evenly—too much in one spot will make clumps, too little and some pellets won’t have the lubricant they need.
As your pellet mill supplier, I always tell customers to start small when experimenting with additives. Don’t go adding 5 different additives to your first batch—pick one or two that solve your specific problem, test a small batch, adjust the amount, and then scale up. That way, you don’t waste a ton of raw material if something goes wrong. I’ve had customers come to me with custom additive mixes, and I help them work out the right rates so they get the best results without breaking their equipment.
Look, at the end of the day, additives are a tool, not a requirement. If you’re making small batches of feed for your own farm, maybe you don’t need any additives—your mash might hold together just fine without them. But if you’re scaling up, selling pellets, or dealing with tough raw materials like sawdust or straw, the right additives will save you time, money, and headaches. They’ll make your pellets more consistent, less likely to crumble, easier to store, and better for whatever you’re using them for.
If you’re not sure what additives are right for your setup, or you need help figuring out the right rate for your pellet mill, I’m here. I’ve worked with hundreds of producers, from small hobbyists to large commercial farms, and I can help you pick additives that fit your needs, your raw materials, and your budget. Don’t waste another batch of ruined pellets or a clogged die—reach out to chat, and we can walk through what you’re making, what issues you’re facing, and figure out the perfect mix for you.
Grass Shredder References
- Pellet Manufacturing: Technology and Applications, Woodhead Publishing, 2017
- Feed Additives Handbook, National Agricultural Library, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2021
- Lignosulfonates as Binders for Pelletized Feed and Fuel, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 125, 2012
- Best Practices for Small-Scale Pellet Mill Operation, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE), 2020
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