September 30. Each year, the date comes and goes across the world. To some, it may be a birthday, an anniversary or finally the date of the concert you have been waiting for. To many, it is just another day on the calendar. But for those in Washington, D.C., the date looms larger and larger each year. Why is it important and why should the animal food industry care?
As part of my responsibilities at the American Feed Industry Association, I had the pleasure of spending most of last week at the AFIA Liquid Feed Symposium (LFS) in Louisville. This event is planned, moderated and hosted by AFIA’s Liquid Feed Committee, which is a perennial favorite of mine, and with good reason I suppose.
It’s not an absolute certainty that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will release a new standard, but all signs seem to be pointing in that direction. OSHA has been working on a proposed standard for quite some time now, and there is evidence the agency may be in the final stages of publicizing a proposed rule.
Last week, former Florida Republican Congressman Ted Yoho, a veterinarian, penned an op-ed for Agri-Pulse, which inaccurately describes the current regulatory process for new animal food ingredients and calls into question the industry’s need for a legislative solution. The op-ed comes as Congress looks to reauthorize the Animal Drug User Fee Act before its Sept. 30 deadline, which, currently, in the Senate, contains a key, bipartisan-approved bill that would streamline regulatory reviews for new animal food ingredients that act within animals’ gut microbiomes to bring about food safety, production or environmental benefits.
We were proud to recognize some outstanding individuals and members this week at the American Feed Industry Association’s Liquid Feed Symposium.
This week, we proudly recognized Westway Feed Products’ Houston, Texas, feed manufacturing facility with the American Feed Industry Association’s 2023 Liquid Feed Facility of the Year (FFY) award!
The American Feed Industry Association is excited to welcome back Jessica Morse. She was with the association several years ago and is back as our director of meetings and events. Jessica is passionate about serving our members and is really looking forward to being back in the animal food industry. Learn more about Jessica below.
This week, Emily Alvarez, a senior at the University of Florida, joined the American Feed Industry Association’s communications team as our fall intern. She loves nature, is pursuing a degree in agricultural communications with a minor in innovation and can tell you the ins and outs of pigeon racing. Get to know a little bit more about her below.
Continuing my blog series on industry titans, here’s another mover and shaker: John Starkey. John has been the president of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association (USPOULTRY) for the last 16 years, after serving as USPOULTRY’s vice president of environmental programs for seven years. Prior to that, he worked a number of years in the poultry industry for Gold Kist and Hudson Foods, where he served as director of environmental affairs. I really got to know John through the American Feed Industry Association’s partnership with USPOULTRY on the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE). Below is our conversation.
Today, the American Feed Industry Association released our annual, “Our Industry, Our Promise” report, detailing the operational challenges facing today’s animal feed and pet food manufacturers at the global and international levels. It also discussed the ways the AFIA is addressing those challenges head-on, while laying the groundwork for a prosperous future for our members and association into the future.