喂养Industry Optimistic About 2022 Despite Challenges

北美动物饲料行业是地址ing climate change and sustainability while also facing challenges including high ingredient prices, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages, and ramping up its foreign animal disease (FAD) prevention and preparedness measures.

Despite all of these headwinds, experts are optimistic about animal feed production in 2022.

Climate change and sustainability will be on the minds of producers this year, but a slow regulatory approval process could hamper some advancements in innovation, experts say.

具有环境益处的饲料成分的概念正在吸引消费者和政策制定者。Leah Wilkinson, vice president of public policy and education at theAmerican Feed Industry Association (AFIA)。她引用了饲料的创新可以减少工作ions in cattle as an example.

“Unfortunately, many of these ingredients are stuck in an antiquated regulatory review process at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has resulted in the United States trailing its global competitors in bringing these products to market,” she said.

“The American Feed Industry Association is working with many agricultural stakeholders on a multipronged approach to modernize the FDA’s regulatory system so that it keeps pace with scientific innovation and that today’s farmers and ranchers can start using these technologies on their farms sooner.”

这也是一个关注的问题National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), according toDavid Fairfield,the association’s senior vice president, feed.

他说：“ NGFA还敦促FDA现代化其与减少肠子排放的饲料成分有关的政策，因此对动物农业有环境利益的产品可以更有效地进入市场。”

Another issue regarding climate change, Fairfield said, is “the availability of cropland to produce raw agricultural commodities. The abundant and affordable production of raw agricultural commodities is the beginning and most important part of a vibrant U.S. animal agriculture sector and feed industry.”

NGFA supports climate change policies and activities that use best practices for land management and opposes those that slow productivity.

“As federal climate change policies are under consideration, NGFA has urged that climate change actions be directed at working land programs to achieve large environmental and economic benefits by incentivizing broader adoption of best management farming and ranching practices across our nation’s best acres for agricultural production,” he said.

“In contrast, NGFA continues to oppose the use of policies that idle nonenvironmentally sensitive cropland, which reduces U.S. agriculture output, hurts rural economies, and causes a net increase in atmospheric carbon due to the addition of global cropland to meet growing demand.”

Supply chain challenges, high prices

喂养producers have been dealing with供应链中断and high ingredient prices, and will continue to do so into 2022. In its全球动物蛋白Outlook 2022report, Rabobank forecast prices will stabilize in 2022, but margins will remain tight.

In North America, feed prices will remain at higher levels compared with the past five years and export levels are expected to be the second highest on record.

“While robust export and domestic demand will support prices, the building of soybean and corn stocks will keep a lid on price levels,” the report said.

Fairfield cited a recent report from Purdue University that projected the 2022 price of corn/soy-based swine feed diets to be approximately 3% to 5% above those experienced in 2021. But, he said, feed producers are adept at making changes to deal with pricing issues.

“从历史上看，饲料制造商的成本最低，在允许的参数中以最高成本的有效方式满足营养需求。这种做法肯定会在2022年继续进行。”他说。

Producers are also adjusting to limited availability of some ingredients due to the pandemic-fueled supply chain disruptions around the world.

威尔金森说：“像所有应对供应链挑战的行业一样，Covid-19加剧了供应链挑战，我们正计划并在某些成分供应较低时在可能的情况下进行调整。”“这与我们在自然天气事件，制造业关闭等造成的成分短缺中的反应无关，但是供应链危机的延长性质将不可避免地减少美国工业的长期经济前景，如果不尽快解决。透明

费尔菲尔德（Fairfield）专门指向由运输和生产问题引起的赖氨酸短缺，因为需要根据成分可用性调整饲料配方的原因。

“Ongoing congestion and related transportation logistical obstacles threaten the ability of the industry to both import and export feed products,” he said. “Recently, shortages of lysine have been reported by U.S. feed manufacturers, causing diets to be reformulated in an attempt to reach optimum levels.”

Companies reviewing labor practices

Along with the aforementioned challenges, the North American feed industry is also facing labor shortages, just like many other industries, and this is causing companies to identify where they can improve their labor practices.

“Our members have been taking a hard look at how they can retain and attract talent — everything from ensuring their wages are competitive to offering flexible schedules to providing financial incentives,” Wilkinson said.

Potential employees often express a desire for flexibility in the workplace when considering new employment, including within the feed industry.

费尔菲尔德说：“饲料行业正在努力适应工作允许吸引熟练工人的灵活性的渴望。”

Among other factors, he said requirements for COVID-19 vaccinations or routine testing present an obstacle for many employers that are struggling

to fill open positions with much-needed and qualified workers.

“NGFA has encouraged the administration to continue to recognize the critical infrastructure status of the food and agriculture sector and provide flexibility for agricultural employers to avoid the negative effects a vaccine mandate would have on the efficiency and reliability of the food and feed supply chain,” he said.

威尔金森说，AFIA正在监视加班法规，联邦最低工资和薪水保护计划的变化以及影响就业的其他关键问题，包括疫苗接种规定。

喂养’s role in foreign animal disease mitigation

With the arrival in 2021 of African swine fever (ASF) in the Western Hemisphere for the first time in 40 years, the North American animal feed industry has ramped up its prevention and preparedness measures. Fairfield said the feed industry plays an important role in safeguarding U.S. animal agriculture from FADs.

“Feed industry efforts in this area will include gaining a better understanding of the role feed and feed ingredients serve as potential vectors for disease, enhancing practical biosecurity protocols, implementing disease response and preparedness plans, interacting with FDA and USDA on potential regulatory responses, and examining further research on feed-mitigation measures,” he said.

“Continued focus also will be placed on imported grains and feed ingredients that originate from countries where foreign animal diseases are of concern, and how the potential risk associated with these products can be minimized.”

Outlook for 2022

Despite all of the challenges that face the North American animal feed industry, Fairfield and Wilkinson expressed optimism about feed demand in 2022.

费尔菲尔德说：“随着世界需求不断增长，动物蛋白的产量预计将在2022年中表现出色。”“反映出这一需求，美国农业部目前预测2021-22美国国内饲料谷物和大豆粉的使用，将2020-21的时间增加约1％。

“尽管该行业存在逆风，但2022年期间的饲料需求应该很强大，并提供了对即将一年保持乐观的理由。”

TheInstitute for Feed Education and Research’slatest animal feed consumption report examined the pandemic’s effect on the feed industry for several domestic livestock species and found that the quicker the industry recovers, the better projections will be for the next five years, Wilkinson said.

“With the U.S. economy ‘open for business’ after periods of being shut down in 2020, we are seeing pickup back in the hotel, retail and institution sectors of the economy as well as for travel and trade,” she said.

“ Covid-19变体将继续挑战该行业的全部康复，但是对蛋白质，乳制品和其他食品的需求并没有消失，我们感到有渴望恢复正常的渴望。”■

—Ann Reus