- Merck Animal Health announced the results of the company’s first-ever consumer transparency research study, finding that two-thirds of consumers say transparency in animal protein is extremely or very important.
- Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), released a statement on the news that U.S. agricultural exports including dairy set a record for both value and volume in 2022. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. dairy exports to the world totaled $9.5 billion last year, topping the 2021 dairy export value record by 25% and representing a 85% increase in just the past 10 years. Moreover, U.S. dairy exports logged 2.82 million metric tons of volume in 2022, another record and a 52% increase over the past 10 years.
- Leading ranch management software provider AgriWebb and leading agricultural MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) software provider Regrow Ag are joining forces to scale the adoption of climate-smart beef production practices within the United States and Australia.
- EmGenisys, Inc. has already had a busy 2023. The Texas-based startup was runner-up in the 2023 American Farm Bureau Federation AgInnovation Challenge and the team has been on the road attending some of the biggest agricultural events in the country, sharing the science behind their reproduction technology with fellow bovine enthusiasts.
- The beef industry is experiencing pressure to increase the efficiency and sustainability of cow-calf production. Dozens of traits affect a cow’s ability to be efficient. In an increasingly unpredictable climate, an animal’s genetic value must be considered in the context of its environment. Hear from Troy Rowan, PhD, University of Tennessee discuss cow efficiency and how the industry can leverage genetic selection tools to improve these traits at the next edition of the Cattlemen’s Webinar Series on Feb. 16. Register here.
- AgTech Insight is delighted to support the Animal AgTech Innovation Summit in San Francisco on March 13, 2023.
- Programs from the Midwest Dairy Association are reaching more consumers than ever in the 10-state region with 39 million consumers. Already, the year is off to a running start with dairy products playing a key role in consumers’ resolutions for a healthier version of themselves.
- The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Feedstuffs has named the Kent Nutrition Group’s feed manufacturing facility of Marshall, Mo., as its 2022 Commercial Dry Feed Facility of the Year.
- A search committee has been formed to start the process of finding a replacement for John Starkey, retiring president of the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY). Mike Levengood, vice president, Chief Animal Care Officer and Farmer Relationship Advocate for Perdue Farms and past USPOULTRY chairman, will serve as the search committee chairman.
- U.S. Poultry & Egg Association recognized five poultry farms that were nominated for the annual Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award at the International Poultry Expo, part of the 2023 International Production & Processing Expo. The award is given annually to recognize exemplary environmental stewardship by family farmers engaged in poultry and egg production.
- The current outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (“bird flu”) in the United States and resulting egg price increases have caused the chicken industry to closely examine a policy that forces the broiler industry (broilers are chickens raised for meat) to destroy perfectly nutritious and safe eggs. The National Chicken Council has petitioned FDA to reverse or modify this policy.
- Purina Animal Nutrition announced two new products formulated to support sow performance and reproductive efficiency and piglet respiratory health and immune function during the post-weaning period — Purina EnduraSow feed additive and Purina EnduraPig feed additive, respectively.
- The InterTribal Buffalo Council, a federally chartered Indian organization, with 79 Member Tribes, and the National Bison Association, representing nearly 1,200 private bison producers, have renewed a Memorandum of Understanding that outlines specific areas in which the two organizations collaborate to continue to restore bison herds across North America, and in the diets of the American people.
