The American Feed Industry Association's 44th annual Liquid Feed Symposium attracted more than 190 attendees to New Orleans, La., Sept. 9-11. The conference, themed "Feeding Tomorrow--From the Big Easy" is the country's largest gathering of liquid supplement leaders in manufacturing, nutrition, quality, sales and marketing and offers high-quality speaker presentations, research funding reports, achievement recognition and the Liquid Feed Symposium Trade Show.
"AFIA could not be more pleased with the turnout of the Liquid Feed Symposium," said AFIA President and CEO Joel G. Newman. "For more than 40 years, it has remained a staple within the liquid supplementation industry. The symposium's success is a result of offering timely research updates and educational presentations along with exceptional networking opportunities for manufacturers, ingredient suppliers and other support industries."
Dr. Richard Raymond, an industry consultant, was the keynote speaker at the event. He gave a thorough overview on how antibiotics are used to raise animals for food, detailing the perceptions versus reality. Raymond discussed that when humans are ill, health care providers treat individuals with antibiotics, and posed the question: Shouldn't veterinarians be able to use similar methods of treatment when animals are ill in order to reduce the spread of germs and disease?
Don Close, Rabo Bank, discussed "Ground Beef Nation: The Effect of Changing Consumer Tastes and Preferences on the U.S. Cattle Industry." Close's presentation highlighted consumer interest in beef and the changing supply and demand for the product.
"Data published by the Beef Checkoff indicates that in 2012, domestic beef consumption on a ready-to-eat basis was just over 15 billion pounds. Nearly 8 billion pounds, or 52.66 percent, was consumed in the foodservice sector, and 7.13 billion pounds was through retail purchases," explained Close.
He estimated that of the retail sales of beef, upwards of 60 percent could be of ground beef, which presents enormous implications on the beef industry.
Other presenters and topics included: Dr. Cathy Bandyk, Westway Feed Products; Randy Blach, Cattle Fax; Dr. Nicolas DiLorenzo, University of Florida; Dr. Art Douglas, Creighton University; Dr. Frank Mitloehner, University of California, Davis; Paul Mostyn, Westway Feed Products; Dr. John Paterson, National Cattlemen's Beef Association; Dr. Chris Reinhardt, Kansas State University; Randy Rosenboom, Kent Corporation; Dr. Aubrey Schroeder, Zoetis; Randy Shanks, Nutra Blend; Dr. Tryon Wickersham, Texas A&M University; and Leah Wilkinson, AFIA.
During the symposium, the results of AFIA's annual Liquid Feed Tonnage Report were released and David Caldwell was inducted into the Liquid Feed Hall of Fame.
