On Nov. 17 and 18, I attended my 13th U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council’s (USAEDC) annual fall meeting. As I write this blog, I am both wondering how this is even possible, as I am clearly not old enough to have attended this many meetings, and thinking about how much has changed in agricultural trade over this time. I mean, this year was the second year in a row that I have attended this meeting virtually- BECAUSE OF A PANDEMIC- words I never thought I would ever say in my lifetime!

While the Sustainable Agriculture Summit was held as a hybrid event with carefully orchestrated live and virtual content, many attendees chose to make their way to Las Vegas to participate in person. Joined by AFIA’s President and CEO Constance Cullman, I was glad to be among them. For me, conferences have always been a place to learn something new, but perhaps more importantly, to have unplanned (or planned) encounters with friends, peers, new acquaintances and future collaborators. As we all likely experienced at least once in the last 18 months, even the best virtual event cannot replace the conference networking experience.  

Every year, the American Feed Industry Association recognizes animal nutrition scientists who make an impact on the health of livestock and poultry by sponsoring awards. Read about this year’s animal nutrition award winners below.

Thanksgiving is much more than turkey, football games and naps on the couch (anyone else?) – it’s right in the name, giving thanks. As you sit around the dinner table, take a hard look at your plate. For your Thanksgiving turkey to make it to the table, farmers grew the corn and soybeans used in turkey feed, equipment manufacturers produced the machines used to process the ingredients, feed manufacturers mixed and made safe and nutritious feed, farmers raised and cared for the birds, and then meat processors prepped and readied them for the grocery store. 

What can you make with a pound of beans? Being from the South, my first thought strays to a big pot of red beans and rice, complete with Cajun Andouille sausage and all the fixin’s. My mouth is watering thinking about how delicious my kitchen smells when I make them, but for some, a pound of beans is hard to come by.

From comedy to drama, computers have provided rich themes for movies for nearly 60 years from bringing about the end of the world with a computerized nuclear program using the slapstick humor of “Dr. Strangelove” (1963) to the drama of “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). For many businesses, 2021 has been the year that the reality of cybersecurity became stranger than fiction as data was encrypted and ransoms were paid in the wake of several high profile cyberattacks. It is time for business of all sizes to address computer safety and take steps to protect their data and wallets from cyber criminals.

The short answer to my question is: yes! In “Part 1 – Defining Sustainability” of the Institute for Feed Education and Research’s (IFEEDER) webinar series, Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Ph.D., director of AgNext at Colorado State University, shared an important idea for agricultural sustainability efforts, which is that sustainability is driven by both science and emotion. The recent Journal of Dairy Science article “Sustainability: Different Perspectives, Inherent Conflict” offers insights on consumer perspectives that further confound sustainability discussions.

The fact that dairy cows eat agricultural byproduct feed is not news. For example, dairy cows have been recycling distiller’s grains for as long as humans have been fermenting grains and distilling ethanol from them. What IS news, however, is that dairy cows are now starting to get recognition for their role as valuable nutrient recyclers in the agricultural system because of this practice.