Feedstuffs in Focus
Feedstuffs in Focus is a weekly look at the hot issues in the livestock, poultry, grain and feed industries. Join us as we talk with industry influencers, experts and leaders about trends and more. Feedstuffs in Focus is produced by the team at Feedstuffs.
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Smart bets in uncertain ag markets
<p>Uncertainty in agriculture is hitting differently right now, not because we have never dealt with risk, but because so many forces are moving at the same time. Commodity price volatility, stubborn input costs, geopolitical shocks, tighter regulation, and fast-changing farm technology are stacking up and making it harder to know what to do next. So we sit down with Emily Sword, Vice President at Inspire, to get practical about how farms and agribusiness leaders can plan without pretending the chaos is going away. <br/><br/>Emily brings both sides of the story: a fifth-generation farm background and years leading b...
Ceasefire does little to ease fertilizer market woes
<p>A ceasefire can change the mood overnight, but it cannot instantly move ships, lower insurance, or restore trust in a trade lane that suddenly feels risky. We sit down with Chris Vlachopoulos, fertilizer specialist and senior editor at ICIS, to unpack what the U.S. and Iran two-week ceasefire really means for the fertilizer market and for anyone watching input costs ahead of planting season. <br/><br/>We dig into the disconnect between improved sentiment and stubborn reality: reports of no inbound traffic, significant volumes of fertilizer stuck in transit, and freight and insurance premiums that keep pressure on d...
AI for early poultry disease detection
<p>In a poultry barn, disease does not wait for the next walk-through. We sit down with Dr. Guoming Li of the University of Georgia to talk about a practical question every grower and integrator faces: how do you catch health problems early enough to protect animal welfare, reduce losses, and safeguard food safety when time and labor are limited?<br/><br/>We explore precision poultry farming tools that turn everyday signals into early warnings. Dr. Li breaks down how thermography and machine learning can detect temperature shifts linked to avian influenza and Newcastle disease, and why focusing on non-feathered...
Is your message clear and understood or just loud?
<p>A lot of farm problems look like “people problems” until you zoom in and see what’s really happening: unclear expectations, mismatched communication styles, and feedback that never gets said out loud. We sit down with Dr. Brent Sexton of Suidae Health and Production to talk about communication on farm and why it stays challenging even when we’re always on our phones, computers, and email. From quick instructions in the barn to high-stakes decisions in livestock production, the message you send is only half the story. The other half is how it lands.<br/><br/>We dig into self-awa...
Early-life respiratory disease shapes dairy-beef crossbred cattle performance
<p>BRD doesn’t always announce itself with a dramatic crash in gain. Sometimes it shows up months later where nobody expects it: on the rail, as lower marbling and a worse carcass grade. That’s the unsettling thread we pull on with Dr. Melissa Cantor of Pennsylvania State University, as we unpack what early-life respiratory disease means for beef on dairy, beef, and crossbred calves. <br/><br/>We start where lifetime health really begins: colostrum management. Dr. Cantor explains how immunoglobulin G (IgG) transfer shapes passive immunity, antibiotic treatment risk, and even survival. From there we dig into why bovin...
Inside the feed supply chain: How nutrient shortages are impacting U.S. protein sector
<p>The proper nutrients can make a big difference but what happens when they aren't available or are priced out of the diet formulation? We sit down with IFEEDER’s Lara Moody and Dr. Yuan-Tia Hung to unpack new species-level reports that reveal how disruptions in feed-grade vitamins and amino acids ripple through broilers, layers, turkeys, and swine operations. The conversation connects precise on-farm impacts—like average daily gain cut in half when lysine runs short and broiler meat yield slipping by double digits—to the bigger picture of U.S. food security and supply chain resilience.<br/><br/>We dig int...
Akralos to deliver advanced feed and nutrition solutions
<p>Akralos Animal Nutrition, a new North American animal feed and nutrition company, officially launched Feb. 1. Formed through a joint venture between global agriculture leaders ADM and Alltech, Akralos combines Alltech’s U.S.-based Hubbard Feeds and Canada-based Masterfeeds businesses with ADM’s U.S. feed operations.</p><p>Operating an extensive network of more than 40 feed mills across North America and supported by more than 1,400 team members, Akralos delivers reliable, high-quality feeds, minerals and supplements through its trusted brands, backed by advanced nutrition expertise, leading-edge science and personalized service.<br/><br/>We talk with Alltech President and CEO Dr...
Trust through science: Common Swine Industry Audit
<p>Proof builds trust, and trust keeps the supply chain moving. We take you inside the Common Swine Industry Audit (CSIA) to show how one science-based, third-party verification practices helps producers and packers demonstrate animal welfare and pre-harvest pork safety with clarity and credibility. With guests Brooke Kitting, CSIA task force co-chair and senior veterinarian at Seaboard Foods, and Stephanie Wetter, Director of Animal Welfare at the National Pork Board, we explore why a single recognized audit reduces duplicative demands while protecting freedom to operate for farms of every size.<br/><br/>We break down the 2026 CSIA updates that matter...
Study defines value and challenges of Mississippi River shipping channel
<p>A single stretch of water can set the tone for global prices, rural incomes, and the cost of everyday goods. We dive into the Mississippi River Ship Channel with Ken Erickson of Polaris Analytics and Consulting and Sean Duffy of the Big River Coalition to unpack new, verifiable numbers that quantify its outsized role in U.S. trade. The study pegs $226.5 billion in annual value moving through a corridor that links Midwest barges to ocean-going vessels, stitching together grain exports, fertilizer supply, refined products, coal, cement, aggregates, and more into a single, high-throughput system.<br/><br/>We explore how...
Preparing gilts with purpose, managing to maximize genetic potential
<p>Most farms chase averages and miss the levers that actually move sow productivity. We pull back the curtain on what truly drives reproduction and lifetime output: preparing gilts with purpose, managing health and stress to guard genetic potential, and leaning on objective, repeatable data instead of gut feel. With Dr. Chad Yoder of Elanco Animal Health, we connect the dots between environment, selection intensity, and the everyday choices that decide whether a sow flourishes or falls behind.<br/><br/>We start by challenging one-size-fits-all SOPs. Housing systems, health status, and pen design aren’t background details—they’re the contex...
