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In some parts of the country, the air is starting to turn crisp and has taken on a decidedly fall-like feel – not weather we normally associate with the Kentucky Derby. But in 2020, we have learned to accept the good things that come our way, no matter how strange the timing. For the trainers and owners of horses heading to the post at Churchill Downs this Saturday, Sept. 5, many things have changed over the last five months, but the training regimens and diets provided to the horses preparing for the Run for the Roses still include the carefully crafted routines and ingredients essential to the development of equine superstars.

Over the past two months as we have all hunkered down in our own ways to aid in public actions against the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have looked to the comfort of homemade bread as a way to ease the effects of changed work and social norms. The power of yeast, a single-celled fungus, to convert flour and sugar to fragrant, chewy, delicious bread, is amazing. Humans first used yeast to produce raised breads around 3,000 B.C. But what about the value of yeast in animal feeds? In the last few decades, the same class of organisms that provide delicious food for humans are being considered as important nutrients and immune enhancers for many different animals.

Ever since I was a young child, I have looked forward to spring. Not just for the warm weather and the end of the school year, but because that meant my local Theisen’s farm supply store (it’s an Iowa thing) would have cute baby chicks. All year long, my family would drive past the Theisen’s and I would ask to go in and see the chicks. Most of the time, my request was answered with, “They aren’t there right now, it’s not spring.” So, I would agonizingly wait for spring.

If you haven’t seen the hit Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” chances are you have heard about it or seen the memes that are taking the internet by storm. (If you have time, I’d highly recommend you watch it as there is truly nothing quite like it!) One of the show’s main characters, Joe Exotic, feeds various dead prey (aka “roadkill”) and expired meat from Walmart to the tigers in his roadside zoo, and they are shown to be pretty skinny. While watching this, I couldn’t help but wonder: what would our members who make feed for exotic animals in zoos have to say about how the tigers in the series are fed? 

As many of you know, I’m from Wisconsin, so you would think I know all about National Beer Day, but that is not the case. When I was assigned this blog, I had to do some research. So, let’s start with how National Beer Day started.

Many people think they know all there is to know about unicorns. They’re magical, they have horns on their heads and they make rainbows. But did you know that just like any other animal or equine species, unicorns have specific needs for nutrition?

Happy St. Patrick's Day! We all know that four-leaf clovers bring good luck, but what else do they bring? Check out these fun facts to find out how the feed and agriculture industries make use of this lucky plant! 

A fond memory from my childhood is of my mother at the dining table in the morning, enjoying her cup of black coffee as she doled out five dog biscuits to our little button-eyed, poodle-cross dog, Jack. For meals, Jack gobbled up his canned dog food, but his breakfast time treats were dog biscuits. There must have been some balance in the diet my mother provided to her doting dog; he traveled with our family to two continents and across seven states, living a happy and bouncy 15 years.  Mom and Jack have both been gone for a long time, but in recognition of National Dog Biscuit Day, I looked into the history of dog biscuits and the role they play in a modern dog diet.