Feed Matters

The revised trade agreement negotiated by the US, Mexico and Canada is expected to improve provisions on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and reduce non-trade barriers, says expert.

Declan Billington, chief executive of John Thompson & Sons Ltd, Northern Ireland’s largest animal feed processor, debriefs on this in the latest episode of our podcast series, Feed Matters.

US dairy producers are facing several challenges as the industry shifts production regions and consolidates, but steadying feed prices, trade deals and an upturn in milk prices could bring a better year.

As cows burb, they emit the methane produced in their stomach, and this factor makes dairy and beef production responsible for a significant amount of man-made global warming. So the race is on to find solutions to reduce methane emissions in livestock, namely in dairy and beef cattle.

Maintaining biosecurity at the farm-level, educating feed producers about disease risks, continuing to research disease spread and mitigation agents and working together with the government are the steps needed to prevent African Swine Fever (ASF) from entering North America, says expert.

In the second instalment of our new podcast series, Feed Matters, we look back on a decade in global feed manufacturing, with Aidan Connolly, CEO of Cainthus.

Following a year marked by uncertain in feed production and access to international markets, the US feed industry is approaching 2020 with greater optimism.