Aidan Connolly, VP, Alltech, was not in the booth when I did a walking photo shoot of the NAFB convention Trade Talk session but I got to interview him later. Pictured are Billy Frey and Susanna Elliott. Congratulations go to Aidan for being named an Associate Professor at University College Dublin’s (UCD’s) School of Business, for a five year period until November 2015.
Aidan was talking about the gap between the farm and urban communities. He says that to bridge that gap is a struggle. Alltech is concerned with who our future politicians are, our future employees and future consumers in general. They need to understand where their food comes from. So Alltech has invested a lot in children through educational efforts like bringing in over 60,000 to their exhibit at the recent Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Another topic important to Alltech right now is sustainability. He says that it is very clear that “things are not going to stay the same.” Farmers need to become progressive and embrace innovation. That will including feeding different feed stocks to their animals. He cites algae proteins as one such item that will play a key role in a sustainable food system . He says we also have to look at ways to add value to food.
You can listen to my interview with Aidan here: Alltech Interview