Among the special days of the holiday season, National Milk Day (January 11, if you haven’t already marked your calendar) may not get the attention Christmas gifts and New Year’s kisses may attract. But the day, believed to be the anniversary of the first delivery of milk in bottles in the U.S. in 1878, is a good occasion to look at where milk stands with consumers and where it’s heading next.

It is hard not to notice the ever changing landscape of international trade policy. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, trade with China, Japan, U.K. and the European Union - there is so much happening and all of it has huge implications for U.S. agriculture and the animal food industry. The American Feed Industry Association works hard to protect our industry’s interests globally and I am proud to be a member of the committee that oversees these efforts.

It’s hard to believe that it has already been four months since we launched the AFIA Feed Bites blog! We are so proud to bring our readers a different perspective to issues impacting the animal food industry, correct misinformation, discuss the latest trends, share stories about our industry and have a little fun explaining what animal feed and pet food production is all about.

Many of the questions I’m asked in my role with the Merck Animal Health Veterinary and Consumer Affairs team are about antibiotics. It’s easy for those of us in the agriculture industry to forget just how many people in the United States aren’t involved in agriculture and often the opinions they form are based on information they hear on the news. Most of the time, people just want the same few questions answered.

AFIA's Leah Wilkinson and Mallory Gaines attended the Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance meeting in South Korea this week.

Change is afoot. The U.S.-China trade war. Brexit. Russia-Ukraine tensions. Political crises in the Middle East and Africa. North Korea. And shockingly, by the end of 2018, a record 70.8 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide or, in other words, 1 out of 108 people globally were refugees.

Happy Holidays from the American Feed Industry Association and the Institute for Feed Education and Research! Please note that AFIA's offices will be closed Dec. 23-Jan. 1. 

‘Tis the season of giving.

Now that you’ve had a few days to recover from the splendors of food and family, it’s important to take a second and reflect on what you’re thankful for and how you can affect positive change not only within your community, but across the globe as well.