From the moment I started at the American Feed Industry Association, I have been consumed with all things China--the restrictions, barriers, questions, unknowns, complexities and just plain confusion of trying to get U.S. animal food products into that market.  

Last week, the Animal Agriculture Alliance brought together over 100 individuals representing a cross section of the U.S. food and agriculture industry to openly discuss the diverse challenges that are preventing affordable, animal-sourced foods from reaching those who need it most. What participants said was astounding – that many of the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), such as ending global hunger or reducing our environmental impact, are within reach with the game-changing, sustainable solutions already in the pipeline. 

I grew up in Wisconsin and as a child, vacation meant going to my grandparents’ dairy farm in Prairie du Chien to help bale (really stack) hay or feed calves. The summer after my freshman year of college, I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to drive 30 minutes to work on a dairy farm – for free! So, my love for dairy farms, dairy cows and milk, cheese and ice cream runs deep. When I saw the article, “Removal of dairy cows may reduce essential nutrient supply with little effect on greenhouse gas emission,” I knew I had to read it.

We are excited to share new trade data on U.S. animal food industry exports for 2020. Of note, the overall export value for feed, feed ingredients and pet food increased by $874 million, or 7.2%, over 2019 and the total volume of exports of these products increased by 1.1 million metric tons, or 3.5%, during that time. 

Following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, there was a great excitement in some sectors on the removal of hemp as a schedule I controlled substance and its move to being listed as an agricultural commodity, making it legal for farmers to grow the crop for industrial uses in states that permit it. Almost immediately, state legislatures passed bills recognizing hemp as an animal food ingredient. There was only one problem with all this activity: while it might have been legal to grow hemp, it certainly is not legal to feed it to livestock or pets. However, steps are now in motion to change that.

I was three weeks into my new job with the American Feed Industry Association when then-President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act into law and the learning curve began. I was working for Richard Sellers, who wisely offered the advice that there is no better way to learn an industry than to go through a massive overhaul of its regulations! Many reams of paper, hundreds of hours of conference calls, countless pounds of chocolate consumed, and now, the law has been implemented via the regulations and the industry has excelled in its compliance.  

It is often said that the strongest steel is forged by the most intense fires. In an adversarial dance, it is pounded and struck repeatedly before it’s plunged back into the molten fire. The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make the metal pliable and able to withstand every battle it’s called upon to fight. We’ve just passed the one-year mark of living through the coronavirus pandemic. It’s hard not to reflect on where we have been during this challenging time, from canceling in-person events to adapting to a virtual environment to rethinking how we conduct our businesses to keep our employees safe and customers satisfied. 

The United States is no stranger to Africa, having had a number of interests in the policies shaping the diverse continent over the years. Our interests have ranged from political – gleaning ways to prevent conflict and reduce political instability that can threaten U.S. national security – to humanitarian – combating the root causes of hunger and poverty, which also stands to benefit U.S. security and prosperity.