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A few years ago, I was out for a walk with my dog Sherman on a late summer day along a quiet road and came across a friend repairing the fortress-like fence around her vegetable garden. “Woodchuck after the greens again?” I asked. “NO!” she replied, clearly agitated, “The darn dog ate my carrots, it’s the second planting I have lost this year.” Dogs are willing vegetable eaters? It turns out that many dogs will snitch vegetables and berries right out of gardens and can thrive on vegetarian or even vegan diets. This got me to questioning: what are the advantages of vegan diets for dogs and what considerations need to be made in diet formulation?

Anyone with a lazy cat or dog will know what I’m talking about. You come home from work, tired after a long day, and your pet has been snoozing all day. “What a rough life,” you might say. Or, “Where’s the rent? Get a job!” All in good humor, of course. In fairness, a lot of animals have jobs and serve important purposes (although, they still may not cover the rent or treats).

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.

Halloween is one of our staff's all-time favorite holidays. We love everything about it – the candy, costumes, scary stories, haunted houses – you name it! Our communications team made some spooky #FeedFacts, which you are welcome to share on social media. Happy Halloween from the American Feed Industry Association!

In some parts of the country, the air is starting to turn crisp and has taken on a decidedly fall-like feel – not weather we normally associate with the Kentucky Derby. But in 2020, we have learned to accept the good things that come our way, no matter how strange the timing. For the trainers and owners of horses heading to the post at Churchill Downs this Saturday, Sept. 5, many things have changed over the last five months, but the training regimens and diets provided to the horses preparing for the Run for the Roses still include the carefully crafted routines and ingredients essential to the development of equine superstars.

Over the past two months as we have all hunkered down in our own ways to aid in public actions against the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have looked to the comfort of homemade bread as a way to ease the effects of changed work and social norms. The power of yeast, a single-celled fungus, to convert flour and sugar to fragrant, chewy, delicious bread, is amazing. Humans first used yeast to produce raised breads around 3,000 B.C. But what about the value of yeast in animal feeds? In the last few decades, the same class of organisms that provide delicious food for humans are being considered as important nutrients and immune enhancers for many different animals.

Ever since I was a young child, I have looked forward to spring. Not just for the warm weather and the end of the school year, but because that meant my local Theisen’s farm supply store (it’s an Iowa thing) would have cute baby chicks. All year long, my family would drive past the Theisen’s and I would ask to go in and see the chicks. Most of the time, my request was answered with, “They aren’t there right now, it’s not spring.” So, I would agonizingly wait for spring.

If you haven’t seen the hit Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” chances are you have heard about it or seen the memes that are taking the internet by storm. (If you have time, I’d highly recommend you watch it as there is truly nothing quite like it!) One of the show’s main characters, Joe Exotic, feeds various dead prey (aka “roadkill”) and expired meat from Walmart to the tigers in his roadside zoo, and they are shown to be pretty skinny. While watching this, I couldn’t help but wonder: what would our members who make feed for exotic animals in zoos have to say about how the tigers in the series are fed?