Ahh the Golden State – California. A state known for its picturesque beaches, its tall redwood trees and its laid-back West Coast style. It is also known for its active and connected grassroots networks that lobby for ballot initiatives aimed at chipping away at U.S. production agriculture, with little benefit to animal health and welfare, but at a huge cost to farmers and consumers. 

Hardly anything is more frustrating than ordering a coveted product, only for the shipper to keep pushing back the date of its arrival at your door. As a consumer, it can be frustrating, but for an industry, it can be concerning. Unfortunately, over the past two years since the COVID-19 outbreaks first began, supply chain issues have become the norm, but many industries are working together to address these challenges and plan for the future.

Every year, the agricultural community comes together on National Ag Day to celebrate those who work tirelessly to keep our food supply stable and Americans fed. As a sponsor of this event, the American Feed Industry Association works to educate consumers about how the feed industry is working with farmers and ranchers to improve nutrition for their herds and flocks and reduce animal agriculture’s environmental footprint.

For many children, a goldfish is their first foray into the joy and pain of pet ownership. I remember my first little goldfish, Comet, darting about his bowl, a gift for my eighth birthday. I also remember my older sisters trying to replace his upside-down floating body with a new fish before I learned of his demise. However, I wasn’t to be fooled and tears flowed for days afterwards.  

As mothers, we often find ourselves stating words of caution to our children and while some of those get adhered to, others are ignored, despite our pleading. But that is “how our children learn,” so they say, by making choices based upon the information available. When it comes to the introduction of foreign animal diseases like African swine fever (ASF), our desire is that our message and words of caution get heard, and the feed industry acts accordingly NOW to do its part to prevent the introduction or spread of ASF into the United States.  

State legislators are to be admired for the work they do. Most are paid very little for their service – all the way down to the $100 annually that New Hampshire’s lawmakers make for months of work, entailing long hours and time away from home. But sometimes, it would be appreciated if state legislators didn’t work quite so hard... This year, we have been tracking several state bills that hold no regard for federal regulations or the appropriate use of funds collected from businesses.

When it comes to reducing enteric methane emissions in ruminant livestock, there is a “robust body of knowledge waiting to be implemented” on U.S. farms, but challenges getting these novel ingredients approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use continue to stymie progress. That was the take-home message the American Feed Industry Association’s Paul Davis, Ph.D., delivered at last week’s U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Outlook Forum.

African swine fever (ASF) is top of mind for industry members and government officials alike since its confirmation in the Dominican Republic last July. For the first time in a long time, the highly contagious swine disease is in our hemisphere and although the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) had already been preparing for a “what if” ASF outbreak situation, efforts have significantly increased, and all stakeholders are engaged.