When it comes to managing pre-consumer food waste, dairy cows are a huge part of the solution because, to them, these byproducts are a luxury. “These animals have specifically evolved to digest fiber and extract nutrition. The byproducts, for example—it’s good stuff for them; it has nutritive value,” said Juan Tricarico, Ph.D., senior vice president of environmental research and distinguished scientist at Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI), in a TIME article.
Some of the best advice I received as a young professional was to hone my skills to make the “elevator pitch” – you know, being able to introduce yourself and share a key point or two all in a short enough time that you could do so on a quick elevator ride with someone. That skill has helped me represent our members in the American Feed Industry Association’s public policy efforts and to convey to my friends and neighbors what I really do and who I represent for a living. Many of you, our members, also have standard elevator speeches and today, the AFIA released new data that you can use to update and refresh your pitches. So, let’s look at a few facts about the animal food industry that you can incorporate into your new routine.
Alfalfa is one of the world’s oldest domesticated crops, and today, it is grown on over 20 million acres from coast to coast, making it the nation’s fourth largest acreage crop after corn, soybeans and wheat. The alfalfa plant is not often thought to be used for more than just feeding animals, but it is extremely useful to our environment, with a wide range of benefits, such as rewards to crop rotations, wildlife habitat, soil health and more!
The American Feed Industry Association is thrilled to welcome aboard our new manager of membership and engagement, Kim Atkins! Kim is passionate about membership and is excited to work with AFIA members and provide top-notch member service. Learn more about Kim below.
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?
Last week, Emma Bower, a rising senior at The Ohio State University, joined the American Feed Industry Association’s communications team as our summer intern. She comes from a farm background, is pursuing a degree in agricultural communications with a minor in farm management, and bonus for us – she is a budding photographer with a keen eye for design. Get to know a little bit more about her below.
One of my favorite moments spent in Washington, D.C., this spring was seeing the cherry blossom trees in peak bloom. The beautiful blossoms, adding color and life to the D.C. area, is a spectacular sight to see. Of course, the monuments looked as glorious as ever and getting to see them at nighttime was a new experience for me as well. To say my spring internship with the American Feed Industry Association was full of incredible experiences would not be enough.
I’m Kristen Ireland, one of the founders, along with Erin Mies, of People Spark Consulting, and in this blog I’ll share two strategies for hiring great people who will stick with you, season after season. When we met as human resource experts at a large agriculture cooperative, we quickly realized that we shared a pretty straightforward philosophy: We believe that simple, practical HR processes can boost a company’s bottom line and increase profits and margins.
Last week, the American Feed Industry Association and Feedstuffs named Kent Nutrition Group’s feed manufacturing facility of Marshall, Mo., as its 2022 Commercial Dry Feed Facility of the Year.
Having been personally involved with the Animal Agriculture Alliance for many years, I got to know Hannah Thompson-Weeman well and know she is one of the greatest champions for animal agriculture out there. She was appointed as president and CEO last year and I recently had the opportunity to learn more about her and her exciting plans to lead the organization into the future.