Alltech Global Feed Survey Reveals Production Decline

Chuck ZimmermanAlltech, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Feed

Alltech Global Feed SurveyDr. Mark Lyons, President/CEO, Alltech held a public livestream this morning to share results of the company’s latest global feed survey. You can find more information and watch the recorded presentation here. You can also listen to the presentation below.

Panelists with him included:

Jack Bobo, CEO, Futurity, USA
Bianca Martins, General Manager, Alltech, Mexico
Matthew Smith, Vice President, Alltech, UK
Brian Lawless, North American Species Manager, Alltech, USA

Audio of presentation: Alltech Global Feed Survey Presentation


The 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey estimates that international feed tonnage decreased by 1.07% to 1.126 billion metric tons of feed produced last year, due largely to African swine fever (ASF) and the decline of pig feed in the Asia-Pacific region. The top nine feed-producing countries are the U.S., China, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany. Together, these countries produce 58% of the world’s feed production and contain 57% of the world’s feed mills, and they can be viewed as an indicator of overall trends in agriculture.

The global data, collected from 145 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills, indicates feed production by species as: broilers 28%; pigs 24%; layers 14%; dairy 12%; beef 10%; other species 6%; aquaculture 4%; and pets 2%. Predominant growth came from the layer, broiler, aqua and pet feed sectors.

Animal Ag Bites 12/23

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Public Lands Council’s Government Affairs office in Washington, D.C., is accepting internship applications for the Fall 2020 semester. Positions for next fall include public policy interns and a law clerk. The deadline to apply for either position is March 6, 2020.
  • For decades USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation have provided critical support to the UGA Department of Poultry Science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. This funding has been crucial for research and student recruitment. Since 1993, more than $6,164,000 has been provided in research funding to UGA, with another $396,340 provided for student recruitment since 1994.
  • The National Dairy Council and the U.S. Dairy Export Council came together to tackle a challenge: spore contamination in powders that are shipped internationally. The effort spanned seven years and included 33 projects conducted at 10 universities. USDEC reports that since 2000, the U.S. has grown NDM/SMP exports from just over 100,000 metric tons in 2000 to more than 700,000 in 2018. In 2002, the U.S. accounted for less than 7 percent of total SMP trade. Today, that number hovers between 25 and 30 percent annually.
  • A new video demonstrates the value of GENYOUth, which brings money, resources and influence to help support dairy farmer priorities around youth wellness and Fuel Up to Play 60.

Pork Producers Set 2020 Priorities

AgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, NPPC, Pork

The president of the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) is celebrating progress made in 2019 despite the challenges and setting priorities for 2020.

On a call with reporters Wednesday, NPPC president David Herring of Lillington, NC pointed to both USMCA and the recent Japan agreement as successes in 2019 for pork producers, and getting the China phase one deal across the finish line as one of the 2020 priorities. Herring says NPPC is pleased with funding approved by Congress for more agricultural inspectors to prevent African swine fever (ASF) and other foreign animal diseases (FAD) from entering the United States. NPPC will also continue its legal challenge to California’s Proposition 12, which imposes animal housing standards that reach outside of California’s borders.

Joining Herring on a press call by NPPC CEO Neil Dierks, Vice President Global Government Affairs Nick Giordano, and Chief Veterinarian Dr. Liz Wagstrom. Listen here:
NPPC 2019/20 press call (24:50)

Animal Ag Bites 12/16

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • World Dairy Expo® is accepting nominations for the 2020 Expo Recognition Awards now through February 1, 2020. New this year, WDE will be combining the former Dairyman and Dairy Woman of the Year Awards into one category, Dairy Producer(s) of the Year. Organizations, academic staff, producers and others involved in the dairy industry are encouraged to nominate individuals to recognize their outstanding work and dedication to the dairy industry.
  • The past year has been one of the most challenging years in recent memory for corn farmers across the Midwest due to excessive rainfall, which has resulted in delayed and/or prevented planting in many areas. Extreme weather conditions and moisture levels can reduce yields and induce plant stress, and they can also lead to future issues for the crop, including molds and mycotoxins. Increased moisture can allow Fusarium molds to flourish, producing a variety of mycotoxins that include deoxynivalenol (DON), fusaric acid, T-2, HT-2 and zearalenone. Alltech will host a United States Corn Silage Report webinar with Dr. Max Hawkins on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019, at 2:30 p.m. EST. Register for the webinar via this link. For more information on mycotoxin management, visit knowmycotoxins.com.

    • To help support California food bank’s efforts to meet demand for protein during a difficult fire season, Cargill donated nearly 50,000 pounds of beef to local families in California.

  • National Cattlemen’s Beef Association CEO Colin Woodall issued a statement regarding the announcement that the U.S. and China have agreed to a phase one trade deal.
  • Ralco has launched its revitalized swine nursery nutrition program, Tactical Start™, built on driving early feed intake, providing ultra-complex, easily digestible diets, and focusing on digestive capacity. This approach concentrates on setting pigs up for success by achieving more uniform, consistent pigs resulting in improved performance throughout production.

Animal Ag Bites 12/9

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the final interim decision for the registered use of sodium cyanide. Working with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, the label for this predator control tool will include three additional use restrictions to promote public awareness and decrease non-target impacts. American Sheep Industry Association President Benny Cox said this announcement is welcomed by our nation’s sheep producers.
  • ADM Animal Nutrition, a division of Archer Daniels Midland Company, has opened a new Animal Nutrition Technology Center in Decatur, Illinois.
  • The U.S. Poultry & Egg Harold E. Ford Foundation and the Poultry Science Association Foundation are pleased to announce the 3rd annual, jointly sponsored Ph.D. and Vet Student Career Fair, which will be held during the International Production & Processing Expo, scheduled for Jan. 28 – 30, 2020, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • The American Feed Industry Association supports the Food and Drug Administration’s vision outlined in the Blueprint for a New Era of Smarter Food Safety, but is concerned about unintended consequences brought about by the requirement to adopt emerging technology for use in food tracking and traceability.
  • The National Pork Producers Council and the American Farm Bureau Federation have filed a legal challenge to California’s Proposition 12, which imposes animal housing standards that reach outside of California’s borders to farms across the United States and beyond.
  • National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Jennifer Houston issued a statement in response to Japan’s final approval of a trade deal that will lower tariffs for U.S. beef exports to that nation.
  • The holidays came early for students from North Dakota State University, Western Illinois University, University of Wisconsin at Madison, State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill, Louisiana State University and Northwest Missouri State University as they take home scholarships for being named winners of the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s College Aggies Online scholarship competition. The Alliance awarded more than $20,000 to students and clubs this year.

Animal Ag Bites 12/2

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • Online cheese sales are experiencing major growth. By the end of 2019, IRI data shows that e-commerce sales will surge past $440 million. The 54% annual growth in online sales over the past four years signals that shoppers are embracing the convenience and variety available when ordering cheese online. Find tips on how to serve Wisconsin Cheese, including seasonal recipes, cheeseboard inspiration, cheese and wine pairing guides and more on WisconsinCheese.com.
  • Leading regional dairy council Dairy MAX recently launched its two redesigned websites, DairyMAX.org and DairyDiscoveryZone.com, to invigorate target audiences’ knowledge of dairy and support dairy sales.
  • A new educational program hosted by the American Feed Industry Association will focus on biosecurity as it pertains to foreign animal diseases, such as foot and mouth disease, African swine fever and avian influenza. The program, “Biosecurity in the Face of Foreign Animal Disease – What the Feed Industry Needs to Know,” will take place on Jan. 29, 2020, in conjunction with the 2020 International Production & Processing Expo, taking place Jan. 28-30 in Atlanta, Ga.
  • Securing zero-tariff access to China for U.S. pork would be an economic boon for American agriculture and the country, according to the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC). Based on an analysis by Iowa State University Economist Dermot Hayes, NPPC says unrestricted access to the Chinese chilled and frozen market would reduce the overall trade deficit with China by nearly six percent and generate 184,000 new U.S. jobs in the next decade. NPPC launched a digital campaign to spotlight the importance of opening the Chinese market to U.S. pork as trade negotiations continue. For more information, click here.
  • R-CALF USA hosted its 20th Anniversary Convention in Deadwood, SD on August 15-16, 2019. The convention proclaimed success boasting approximately 400 attendees; the organization’s largest convention in its 20-year history. An additional 800 guests viewed the convention through online streaming.
  • Up to five regional Stockmanship & Stewardship events will be coordinated throughout the United States by the producer education team at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association in 2020, thanks to sponsorship from Merck Animal Health. Additional funding and support for the program is provided by the Beef Checkoff-funded Beef Quality Assurance program.

Woodall Shares Priorities for NCBA

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Agriculture, Audio, Beef, NAFB, NCBA

This year’s National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention in Kansas City brought an opportunity to talk with Colin Woodall since his appointment as CEO of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Woodall recognized challenges that continue to grow within the industry and the need to protect members and their investment into NCBA.

“The message to the producers is, just hang on. We’re doing a lot right now on the trade front that we think will have some positive impacts on cattle markets,” said Woodall. “That includes the Japanese trade agreement that we expect to go into place on the first on January. That’s also the U.S country specific quota into the EU. We also expect to have the USMCA ratified. And as long as we can provide some certainty in international markets, I think that will also provide a lot of certainty in the domestic market, too.”

Woodall said in addition to trade, the association will focus on ensuring there is honesty in marketing when it comes to products like fake meat. NCBA is working with the Federal Trade Commission to challenge incorrect marketing claims about the environmental impact of the cattle industry on natural resources. The association is also working on legislation to restrict the ability of companies to use the term “beef” for these types of products.

Listen to the interview with Colin here: NAFB19 Colin Woodall, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (4:18)

2019 NAFB Convention Photo Album

Animal Ag Bites 11/25

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • The National Pork Board has named two new executives to its leadership team. Bryan Humphreys has been named the vice president of producer, state and industry relations, and Jacque Matsen has been named vice president of strategic communications. Both will assume their new roles Dec. 16.
  • The American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians Accreditation Site Visit Committee completed its audit of the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory in September 2019, and the AAVLD granted LADDL full accreditation through December 31, 2024.
  • Land O’Lakes Venture37 announced it has been awarded funding for seven new international development projects across the globe in 2019, further building the organization’s reach as it works to strengthen agricultural and food systems in developing nations. Funding for the new projects spans a range of governments, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders.
  • Just in time for the holidays, Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. is releasing a new craveable Beef Drool Log video sure to “spice up” any gathering and celebration. The Beef Drool Log is a two-and-a-half-hour video featuring a beautiful Prime Rib Roast cooking to perfection on a rotisserie over open flame. The video pays homage to the iconic Yule Log but puts a tasty spin on it like only beef can.
  • Public Lands Council President Bob Skinner and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President Jennifer Houston released statements in response to markup of S. 1081, the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act, by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Animal Ag Bites 11/18

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • The first-ever Sioux Falls Dairy Crawl was held on October 28, 2019, at three downtown restaurants. Five dairy farm families, along with dietitians and other ag professionals served as hosts to approximately 40 consumers.
  • Cattle feeders will honor their own Feb. 4, 2020, during their 11th annual banquet, held for the second year in conjunction with the nation’s largest annual cattle industry gathering. The Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame banquet will precede the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show, to be held in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 5-7.
  • United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released a statement on China’s decision to lift its ban on poultry imports from the United States. China has banned all U.S. poultry since January 2015 due to an avian influenza outbreak in December 2014, even though the United States has been free of this disease since August 2017. The United States exported over $500 million worth of poultry products to China in 2013. The U.S. is the world’s second largest poultry exporter, with global exports of poultry meat and products of $4.3 billion last year.
  • Vets Plus, Inc. announces that the Wonewoc, WI facility of its subsidiary Merrick’s Animal Health, LLC has received a Certificate of Compliance from the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) under its Safe Feed/Safe Food Program.
  • A new white paper detailing the minimal environmental footprint of beef production in the U.S. was recently published by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, a contractor to the Beef Checkoff. The white paper, authored by Sara Place, PhD, senior director of sustainable beef production research at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, highlights why and how the U.S. is the leader in sustainable beef production.
  • America’s 60,000 pig farmers are dedicated to raising healthy animals to ensure a safe food supply. Today, that commitment means placing a high priority on using antibiotics responsibly for the health of people, pigs and the planet. As this year’s U.S. Antibiotic Awareness Week and World Antibiotic Awareness Week, Nov. 18-24, gets underway, America’s pig farmers want to highlight their ongoing efforts to achieve excellent antibiotic stewardship and their determination to always seek improvement.

Animal Ag Bites 11/11

carrie muehlingAgWired Animal, Animal Bites

  • GMO Answers has partnered with the American Feed Industry Association to create a new video that answers common consumer questions about GMOs, animal feed, and pet food.
  • The Animal Agriculture Alliance announced a new chair-elect and six new board representatives. The Alliance’s full board of directors, which includes representatives from all segments of animal agriculture, is listed on its website at: https://animalagalliance.org/about/board.
  • Leaders of Dairy Management Inc.™, the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association announced election results to lead national dairy checkoff strategies and programs to protect and grow sales. Marilyn Hershey, a farmer from Cochranville, Pennsylvania, was re-elected chair of DMI.
  • The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board honored William “Bill” Siebenborn as the 2019 recipient of the Richard E. Lyng Award for his contributions and distinguished service to dairy promotion.
  • A live look at innovative in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology will be on display when the 27th Cattlemen’s College is held in San Antonio, Texas, Feb. 4-5, immediately prior to the 2020 Cattle Industry Convention & NCBA Trade Show. Information about registration and the programs can be found at https://convention.ncba.org