Hogs Nutrition

ADM, Alltech Unveil North American Animal Feed Joint Venture

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:20:05 GMT

ADM and Alltech have signed a definitive agreement to launch a North American animal feed joint venture, bringing together decades of experience and unparalleled capabilities to create new advantages for customers, the companies announced on Sept. 23.

“The first company name I can remember, besides our own, is ADM — a name I’ve heard since I was 3 years old, and likely even earlier,” Mark Lyons, president and CEO at Alltech, announced on LinkedIn . “My father’s very first order — and his second, for those who know the story of Alltech’s beginnings — came from ADM. That early vote of confidence helped shape our story. Over the decades, the relationship between our two companies has only grown stronger. We’ve long explored ways to partner more deeply, and now the time is right to align our passionate teams, proven products and shared values.”

Alltech will contribute its U.S.-based Hubbard Feeds and Canada-based Masterfeeds businesses, including 18 feed mills in the U.S and 15 in Canada, and ADM will contribute its 11 U.S. feed mills. The joint venture will be majority-owned by Alltech and governed by a board with equal representation from each parent company.

“This partnership combines the complementary strengths of our businesses — the expertise of our people, extensive manufacturing capabilities, trusted product portfolios and deep knowledge of nutrition science,” Lyons wrote. “Together, we are building something greater than the sum of its parts, with the shared goal of advancing animal nutrition and delivering our customers every advantage.”

As the animal nutrition industry continues to reshape itself to support a growing global population, Alltech and ADM will bring together passionate teams, proven products and shared values to ensure enhanced advantages for our customers, the companies said. They plan on evolving with purpose to offer an industry-leading range of products and solutions for livestock, equine, backyard and leisure animals.

“By joining forces, we can offer more than we ever could alone: broader capabilities, practical solutions and an uncompromising commitment to our customers’ success,” Lyons wrote. “This is a milestone moment — one that sets the stage for the continued growth of our North America feed business and enhances the advantage we can deliver to those we serve.”

The venture will be supported and strengthened by the parent companies’ leading-edge technology and R&D, broad logistical capabilities, and connections across the broader ag and feed value chains.

Alltech will retain its Ridley Block Operations, Ridley Feed Ingredients and Alltech specialty ingredients, although these business units will be partners and suppliers to the joint venture. ADM’s Canadian locations will remain with ADM, as will its U.S. premix and additive businesses, though those capabilities and products will help supply the new company.

The companies expect to complete the transaction and formally launch the joint venture in the first quarter of 2026.

Hemp Seed Livestock Meal Receives Green Lights On Way to Federal Approval

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 18:07:07 GMT

After years of work and regulatory paperwork, the The Hemp Feed Coalition announces Hemp Seed Meal for laying hens has been recommended by FDA-Center for Veterinary Medicine and voted by AAFCO into their Ingredient Definition Committee for the final step in the approval pathway.

The definition allows hemp seed meal up to 20% into feed mixes for laying hens. This marks the first hemp feed ingredient to get federal recommendation and uptake by AAFCO.

Wendy Mosher, CEO at New West Genetics and vice president of Hemp Feed Coalition, says this is something that has been in the works for at least four years.

“There’s a lengthy process for any new crop to get ingredient approval, but it’s worth it, you can’t have commodity crop without a feed opportunity for that crop,” Mosher says. “Federal approval gives us a leg up into adoption and scale.”

Mosher says before deregulation in 2014, hemp acres were zero, then by 2020, climbed to a peak of around 400,000 acres. Today, total U.S. hemp acres are reported around 55,000.

“I think this is a positive thing—it shows with the right incentives crops can be expanded rapidly, and that those participants with long term vision are still here, and are building the markets in a sustainable fashion. Hemp is a great opportunity for the crop rotation as well as soil health” Mosher says. “Hempseed meal as a feed ingredient contributes to the risk mitigation of planting the crop—it’s another place for the crop to go.”

As a feed ingredient, the coalition cites hemp grain providing essential vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, and a complete protein profile. For egg production, this can lead to a value-added product with higher omega 3 content. It has been verified that any potential cannabinoid contaminants do not transfer into the egg product.

With the regulatory obstacles starting to be removed, Mosher is optimistic about the educational opportunities for the market to increase in size.

“Hemp can serve the same basic protein and oil markets that currently use soybeans or canola,” she says. “Feed manufacturers are seeing success, including Wenger Feeds in Pennsylvania who make hemp feed for Kreider Farms’ eggs. In the next year we hope to get some additional adoption by some larger players.”

Mosher highlights her company, New West Genetics, has been developing improved hemp varieties to double grain yield.

“We’ve got momentum in hemp as we are providing high yielding and adapted genetics for hemp production in the U.S., and the industry is also near the finish line on this feed approval,” she says. “It’s a moment we’ve been waiting on for 10 years. In the not so distant future, we hope to see hemp on the million acre scale.”

French Insect-Based Ingredients Maker Ynsect Expands in North America

Tue, 13 Dec 2022 19:36:54 GMT

French company Ynsect said on Tuesday it had signed deals to build insect ingredient production sites in the United States and in Mexico as the firm kicks off what it says will be the world’s largest insect farm.

Ynsect breeds mealworms that produce proteins for aquaculture, livestock, pet food, fertilizers and human nutrition.

The company signed the U.S. agreement with flour milling company Ardent Mills to build a factory next to one of its U.S. MidWest sites - yet to be determined - by the end of 2023.

The two new sites will cost at least 100 million euros ($106.57 million) each and output should eventually rise to about 200,000 tonnes of insect-based ingredients per year, Ynsect CEO Antoine Hubert told Reuters.

Ardent Mills, a joint venture between ConAgra Foods, Cargill Inc CARG.UL and CHS Inc, would supply milling by-products to feed the insects.

In Mexico, Ynsect teamed up with food and general services provider Corporativo Kosmos. The factory would be located near Mexico City and export to the U.S. market.

“The U.S. market is strategic for us, it is the first market in the world for pet food, pork and poultry feed, fertilizers and on sports and human nutrition they largely stand out,” said Hubert.

Ynsect entered the U.S. market in late 2021 through a deal with Pure Simple to supply premium food for dogs. In March it purchased mealworm producer Jord Producers, allowing it to enter the fast-growing backyard chicken feed sector.

The company is discussing about 10 other deals in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and expects additional agreements next year.

“In 2023 we estimate that we should have additional financing for Ynsect because today we don’t have the means to finance new projects,” Hubert said.

Ynsect built what it says will be the world’s largest vertical farm in Amiens, northern France, which started earlier this year.

Ynsect has so far raised about $450 million, mainly used to build its giga-farm in Amiens and for its recent acquisitions, which also include the takeover of Dutch firm Protifarm last year.

It is considering a stock market listing in appropriate conditions.

“It would make a lot of sense on many aspects including reinforcing our credibility towards other industrial partners,” Hubert said.

($1 = 0.9384 euros)

(Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Josie Kao)

AMVC and Landus Feed Mill Construction Underway in Iowa

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 14:11:56 GMT

First announcing the collaboration in March 2022 , construction of the AMVC and Landus feed mill in Hamlin, Iowa, is underway.

A recent release describes the building process thus far, including concrete pours on a day bin, loadout area and milling towers structures.

“The 145-foot mill took eight consecutive days to construct, rising approximately 20 feet each day, and a crew of 200 people worked 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day. The roof is expected to be poured throughout the winter. Once complete, the project will enter the next construction phase, adding milling and mixing equipment and warehouse space,” the release explains.

The feed mill will have the capacity to produce up to 400,000 tons of swine feed per year, generating demand for roughly 8.5 million bushels of corn and 48,000 tons of soybean meal annually. The mill will also create 22 additional jobs, including eight full-time mill employees and 14 local truck drivers.

Steve Schmitz, veterinarian and managing partner of AMVC Management Services, notes the project’s ability to add long-term economic and agricultural value to Audubon County, Iowa, and surrounding areas. Additionally, the local feed mill allows AMVC and the company’s clients more control over ingredient sourcing, quality assurance and biosecurity.

“This investment into our nutritional program will provide cost savings and performance benefits for area pigs and enables us to better serve local swine operations,” says Trey Kellner, swine nutritionist and managing partner of AMVC Nutritional Services.

Through the collaboration, AMVC will own and operate the feed mill while Landus will be responsible for originating grain through its network of local farmer-owners.

“Our collaboration with AMVC showcases what’s possible when partners work together with an optimized approach to serving our local communities,” say Matt Carstens, president and chief executive officer at Landus.

Carsten also notes the benefits of the feed mill, including additional grain origination, marketing and storage opportunities for Landus farmer-owners.

The project first broke ground in August and is expected to be fully operational by the summer of 2024.

U.S. Corn Farmers Wary of Vomitoxin, Latest Stress on Global Grain Supplies

Wed, 02 Nov 2022 17:12:23 GMT

By P.J. Huffstutter and Mark Weinraub

A fungus that causes “vomitoxin” has been found in some U.S. corn harvested this fall, causing headaches for growers and livestock producers and forcing ethanol plants and grain elevators to scrutinize grain deliveries.

The situation is another hit to global grain supplies that have sunk to the lowest in a decade since Russia invaded corn and wheat producer Ukraine. Drought has also slammed U.S. and European crops.

Feed made from grain contaminated with concentrated levels of the plant toxin can sicken livestock and lead to low weight gain, particularly among hogs, and grain buyers can reject cargoes or fine farmers for shipments that contain it.

Early signs of the toxin are emerging in Ohio, according to a weekly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grain buyers in eastern Indiana are also starting to more rigorously test corn deliveries for vomitoxin, according to farmers and elevator sources.

The toxin is also a problem for ethanol producers who sell a byproduct called distillers dried grains (DDGS) for animal feed. In the process of making ethanol, vomitoxin becomes more concentrated in DDGS, said Pierce Anderson Paul, a professor and epidemiologist with Ohio State University’s department of plant pathology.

POET LLC, the world’s largest ethanol producer, is testing for vomitoxin in grain being delivered to its plants in Fostoria, Leipsic and Marion, Ohio, and Portland, Indiana, according to the company’s website and corn growers who sell to these facilities.

That, in turn, has led to longer-than-normal traffic for farmers, who must await test results to know whether Poet will accept their loads, according to three producers.

Poet did not respond to a request for comment.

With just 56% of Ohio’s corn crop harvested, according to the latest government data, it is not known how widespread the issue is in the state or beyond.

The problem can emerge in areas where wet weather leads the fungus to grow in corn ears when harvest is slowed or delayed, Paul said.

Lane Osswald, a farmer who grows corn, soybeans and wheat on 1,500 acres of land near Eldorado, Ohio, said his crops were sheltered from disease by dry conditions throughout the summer.

But late season rains left some farmers’ crops vulnerable to vomitoxin, he said, particularly after wet fields delayed planting during the spring.

(Reporting By P.J. Huffstutter and Mark Weinraub in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio)

Ohio Co-Op Uses Fleet Tracking to Manage Fuel Prices, Customer Expectations And Efficiency

Wed, 18 May 2022 19:41:07 GMT

Centerra Co-op, based in Ashland, Ohio, will use DispatchTrack to optimize route planning and truck usage and provide customers with more visibility into their order deliveries. This is DispatchTrack’s first agricultural customer, but as Satish Natarajan, DispatchTrack co-founder and CEO, explains, his team sees a lot of potential growth in this sector.

“Centerra Co-op initially contacted DispatchTrack to help optimize their truckloads which were running inefficiently based on the total volume of feed Centerra was delivering versus the total capacity of trucks,” he says. “The challenge Centerra was facing was two-fold: some trucks were going out with empty bins while in other cases, Centerra was having to rent trucks for deliveries. DispatchTrack was able to optimize truck usage by addressing these loading and volume issues ensuring that Centerra could maximize each truckload which eliminates the need to rent trucks or send out trucks at half capacity.”

The first use of the software will be for feed and fuel trucks with the additional sectors (grain and agronomy) coming online with the software later.

“For propane, Centerra was sending trucks to refill when the propane tanks were only half empty and they were looking for new efficiencies that would help reduce refill trips. DispatchTrack was able to help Centerra plan routes that allowed tanks to refill when they were two-thirds empty, resulting in fewer trips and real cost savings,” Natarajan says.

He adds full visibility into fleet tracking helps manage fuel costs, customer expectations, and sustainability.

“With fuel prices at an all-time high, fleets, particularly those with heavy trucks, must consider optimizing their capacity to minimize fuel costs. Customer expectations for real-time visibility and communication about deliveries are also at an all-time high,” Natarajan says.

USDA's January Grain Stocks Reports Shocked The Market One Year Ago, Will It Happen Again?

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 14:32:51 GMT

USDA is preparing to release a batch of reports on Wednesday that will not only reveal the final crop production numbers for the 2021 growing year, but also provide an updated look at crop potential in South America. Considering the weather concerns in South America have been the main driver of the soybean market lately, an updated look at the supply and demand balance sheet will also be closely followed this week.

In USDA’s December report , the agency left both its soybean and corn yield estimates untouched, with soybeans coming it at 51.2 bu. per acre and corn at 177 bu. per acre. Garrett Toay of AgTraderTalk says it’s possible USDA makes adjustments in its crop production report this week.

“I think the biggest thing that could be a surprise on the production side, because the heavy rains in the Eastern CornBelt that the November report got the market leaning toward, they’re expecting a bean yield portion in the 51 to 51.5 [bu. per acre]. They didn’t account for the rains that we had in Indiana, Ohio, which kind of set those Eastern Corn Belt yields back,” says Toay.

Toay says on the supply side, it seems unlikely USDA will raise yields in the January report this week. That’s why he thinks the bigger question is if USDA will post a larger than expected decline in yields due to weather issues in the East.

The Big Question About Demand

January is the only month when the WASDE and Grain Stocks reports are released on the same day.

While private firms are starting to make cuts to their South American production estimates, USDA will have to choose in the big crop reports next week whether the agency is ready to make adjustments to the USDA forecast just yet.

“The demand side, though, we’re going to probably see a production decline in South America, whether the USDA wants to or not in this report, it’s just the question of whether they do it or not,” Toay adds. “But that’s going to potentially narrow up that 300-million-bushel gap that we’ve got in the export as estimates versus the actual commitments, which is going to be responsible ultimately, for the increases in US soybean carry out from this point forward.”

The Big Miss in 2021

Toay says last year, USDA drew some criticism in the Grain Stocks report. That’s as the trade expected grain stocks to come in at 11.951 billion bushels, but USDA reported grain stocks as of December 1 were actually closer to 11.321 billion bushels, which was a 600 million bushel gap. USDA said the lower stocks were due to lost production from derecho, as well as test weight issues. Toay thinks that type of “surprise” probably won’t happen this year.

“The Grain Socks report is really where the tire meets the road, but I think the fact of the matter is I don’t think that we can expect to see another 600 million-bushel miss like we saw last year,” says Toay. “And obviously with the South American weather, the beans have been the leader and it’s pulled corn higher, but if this USDA report was held late last week, March soybeans are the exact same price as what they were this this point last year, but corn is $1.10 higher.”

The Story in Basis

Brian Splitt of AgMarket.net. says basis seems to be telling the story best right now, as he thinks the balance sheet is tighter than what USDA has revealed so far.

“We have a client in Liberal, Kansas that has a local feed yard out there bidding $1 over the board,” says Splitt. “So this is something that I think is going to potentially show lighter than expected stocks. And we’ll see how the overall production numbers come out. But the structure of the market is telling us right now that things may be a little bit tighter than what the USDA is leading on for corn

As farmers face a situation where local buyers are aggressively trying to source and buy corn right now, Splitt thinks that sets the stage for USDA big reports this week.

“There is an awful lot that’s going to happen on these numbers next week,” says Splitt. “I think based on some of the signals the market is telling us, and specifically for corn, we continue to look at the lack of carry in the market. March and May corn are essentially trading at the same price. Both of those are trading a few cents over the July contract.”

Current Export Demand

Splitt says the corn export pace compared to soybean exports tell a slightly different story.

“Exports are good are running well above the five-year average on exports. And that might not be the case on soybeans, we’re running right at about the five-year average. But as Garrett had mentioned, I think those sales will come down the road, especially if we continue to see these numbers in South America drop.”

Splitt says South America is a mixed bag for production right now. Some key growing areas have been seeing steady doses of rain, but other areas across Brazil and Argentina haven’t been that fortunate.

“The areas in central northern Brazil are looking very good, and we saw the acreage increases in the areas that are seeing good productive production potential,” says Splitt. “But we’re going to be kind of looking at what the weather looks like in those areas over the next two weeks. Because if we keep getting rain, and maybe as much as 150 to 200% of normal, that’s going to slow down harvest and that is going to delay the planning of the Safina corn crop which was a problem last year that pushed their corn crop into the dry season. That might bring some concerns about their corn crop down the road several months. So, I think we’ve got a lot of reasons to still be friendly about the demand potential.”

Demand Risk?

With corn export pace sitting ahead of the five-year average, what type of risk is there in the overall demand picture? Toay thinks that could sit with the domestic side of the equation, specifically with feed and residual use.

“We have a reduced herd in the cattle market, but I think it’s a short term issue, rather than a long term issue in demand,” says Toay. “I think when you look at this corn rally that we’ve had on the heels of the South American weather issues, ethanol prices are moving in the opposite direction , but now with this issue in Kazakhstan and crude back above $80. So maybe that helps the ethanol market. But these ethanol margins have really kind of come under pressure, it’s probably a short-term issue.”

On the demand side, South America is a factor analysts are watching, but China is what Toay calls “the $64,000 question.”

“I’m not necessarily sure that they’re going to be buying corn right now,” says Toay. “They’ve got the book on and they bought at substantially cheaper prices. But if you look at what’s going on here, we had the hurricane in the U.S., and they’re [China] astute traders, they shifted their buying to Ukraine, they bought all the cheap Ukraine corn maybe arbitraged out some of their U.S. shipments. The shipment pace is going to pick up for China here.”

Toay says China continues to be strong buyers of U.S. sorghum, and considering the weather and crop concerns in South America, China could come in with more interest in corn from the U.S. again.

“If you get a nervous China, they may step in here and buy some corn. But as Brian said, I think it’s more about execution than purchases at this point,” says Toay.

U.S. Announces Largest Sale of Corn to China Since January

Tue, 16 Mar 2021 21:33:50 GMT

China booked its largest purchase of U.S. corn since January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said on Tuesday.

The USDA confirmed that private exporters sold 1.156 million tonnes of U.S. corn to China, the biggest sale announced through the USDA’s daily reporting system since Jan. 29, when China bought 2.1 million tonnes of the grain in the second-largest U.S. corn sale on record.

The USDA has projected that China will import a historically large 24 million tonnes of corn globally in the 2020/21 marketing year, in addition to other feed grains including barley, sorghum and wheat, as the country strives to rebuild its massive hog herd that has been hit by diseases.

China purchased 18.7 million tonnes of U.S. corn through March 4, USDA export sales data showed, although the Asian country had shipped less than 40% of the total.

Export demand from China helped lift Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) corn futures to a 7-1/2 year high of $5.74-1/4 a bushel last month. The market has since pared gains, but the benchmark contract was up 2-1/2 cents at $5.52 a bushel at 9:25 a.m. CDT (1425 GMT) following Tuesday’s sales announcement.

China’s pork production is forecast to increase by 14% in 2021, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service post in Beijing said in a report dated March 3.

(Reporting by Julie Ingwersen Editing by Alistair Bell)

6 Out Of 10 People Would Try ‘Clean Meat,’ Researchers Say

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 03:34:04 GMT

While pork, beef and poultry are still the protein mainstays in the U.S., so-called meatless meats are showing up routinely in supermarkets, restaurants and, increasingly, on Americans’ dinner tables.

Here’s just a handful of data and details regarding the development and use of plant-based foods and proteins.

New data released in July by the Plant Based Foods Association (PBFA) and The Good Food Institute shows U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods have grown 11% in the past year, bringing the total plant-based market value to $4.5 billion.
Sales of plant-based proteins in the U.S. totaled $800 million in 2018, up 10% over the previous year, according to the PBFA.
About 43 million people, which is 14% of U.S. consumers, regularly use plant-based alternatives such as almond milk, tofu and veggie burgers, and 86% of these consumers don’t consider themselves vegan or vegetarian, according to The NPD Group, a market-research company based in New York.
Development is underway of so-called “clean meat,” which is meat grown from animal stem cells. It’s called “clean” because no animals are slaughtered. There are approximately half a dozen start-up companies based in Silicon Valley working on developing the product.
Faunalytics, a nonprofit research company “dedicated to helping animals,” says its research of 1,200 consumers shows “66% of people would try clean meat, 53% would eat it as a replacement and 46% would be willing to buy it regularly.”
Beyond Meat’s initial burger was introduced in 2016 and now sells, along with its new ‘sausage’ product, at 20,000 grocery retailers as well as 10,000 restaurants, hotels and universities.

There’s no denying that many consumers the pork, beef and poultry industries serve today are also looking at alternatives to traditional protein resources. Fortunately, for those individuals who love raising livestock and producing meat, the future for traditional protein is not all doom and gloom. The 2017 Mintel Plant-Based Proteins report found that, “more than two thirds (67%) of Americans agree meat is essential to a balanced diet, and just over half (51%) believe a meal is not complete without meat.”