ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc. of Puerto Rico, a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland Company, has announced the acquisition of two Puerto Rican feed manufacturers, NutriMix Feed Company and Granossa Corporation. The acquisitions will provide ANI with a feed mill with port access in Puerto Rico as well as extensive storage, helping to strengthen the company's overall footprint in the Caribbean.

Two years of drought have taken a huge toll on U.S. hay production. In the recently released USDA Annual Crop Production Summary, total U.S. hay production in 2012 was 120 million tons, down nearly 18 percent from the 2006-2010 average. This is the lowest U.S. hay production total in data going back to 1974. This follows the 2011 hay production total of 131 million tons, down nearly 10 percent from the same five year average. 

The American Feed Industry Association, along with the International Grains Program of the Department of Grain Science and Industry at Kansas State University and the National Grain and Feed Association, has again partnered to offer a course on HACCP. The interactive course, held in Manhattan, Kansas, is taught by instructors who provide in-depth training on all aspects of the industry associated with feed manufacturing and feed safety.

The phrase is gaining traction as farmers and ranchers work to do right by animals, the land and their agricultural heritage – and consumers, meantime, increasingly want to know where their food comes from and how it’s raised. But what does “sustainable agriculture” really mean, and what are the critical production practices associated with the approach?

Another drought year ahead or not, adding more forages to the grazing mix helps during the annual summer slump, says a University of Missouri Extension forage specialist. Rob Kallenbach advocates more alfalfa, although the legume called “the queen of forages” has fallen out of favor with some farmers.

A new agreement that will expand access for U.S. beef to Japan is being hailed by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) as a positive step for the American beef industry as well as the Japanese trade and consumers.

The 2013 Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Trade Show, taking place Feb. 6-9 in Tampa, Florida will offer something for everyone.

Spring calving is just around the corner, providing the promise of a new calf crop and excitement for the future. Steps taken today can set cows up for a successful calving season. However, poor preparation has a direct impact on the health and well-being of those calves as well as future reproductive performance of the herd, says Ted Perry, beef nutritionist with Purina Animal Nutrition LLC.

After a year of challenges – highlighted by the worst drought in more than a half-century – the U.S. red meat (beef, pork and lamb) industry is focusing on 2013 as a year of great opportunities to increase the value those agricultural exports bring to exporters, processors, producers and the broad American agricultural industry that supports them.