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It is an honor to begin my new role as chair of the American Feed Industry Association Board of Directors. The opportunity to serve in this position is both exciting and humbling. 

Although I was raised in northern Indiana, my early years did not provide me with an awareness of the feed industry. Driving through soybean fields, eating sweet corn from roadside stands and the yearly visit to the “you-pick” strawberry patch was the limit of my exposure to the agricultural industry. My introduction ended up being through a random conversation leading to an entry-level job opportunity with a local agricultural equipment manufacturer, Laidig Systems, Inc. in Mishawaka, Ind. Over 40 years later, it is difficult to imagine serving a more rewarding industry.    

With only a week left to go, both candidates are desperately vying for your vote. Early estimates show that more than 60 million Americans have already cast their votes, surpassing all 2016 early ballots submitted, and yet still, more people are waiting in socially distant lines to vote in-person early or are expected to turn out on Election Day.

One of the main reasons the American Feed Industry Association formed over a century ago was to harmonize state feed laws. Now, in 2020, our organization still tracks legislative and regulatory issues of importance happening at the state level, and recent actions in California highlighted yet another urgent reason why this is necessary.

What is this this “new normal” we keep hearing so much about? We’re all still trying to figure out what  “the new normal” means for each of us, but I know that I’m tired of saying it and I think we can all agree that we are tired of hearing it. However, looking through the lens of the advocacy world, the closer I look, the more it seems that not much has actually changed.

Last week, the American Feed Industry Association’s Board of Directors met to gavel in the new chair, induct new Board members as well as set the association’s legislative and regulatory (L&R) policy agenda for the next AFIA fiscal year, which runs from May 1, 2020-April 30, 2021. These policy priorities dictate how the eight-person L&R team will spend their time for the next year representing the animal feed and pet food industry before Capitol Hill, the White House and domestic and international regulatory bodies. The association is always nimble to adjust to the immediate policy need, like with the response to COVID-19, but these key priorities guide the association’s strategic activities to benefit the industry.