Feed efficiency & ruminants: Susan Petersen, Cargill, shares insights
Global ruminant trends – what are we seeing now and where is the sector headed? All About Feed‘s sister publication Dairy Global spoke with Susan Petersen, global strategic marketing and technology director for Ruminants at Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health. She gives us a global view of the current ruminant sector, its challenges and successes.
It’s not dramatic in the sense that trends come and go; there are many things that are obviously evolving as well. We always talk about the challenges, although milk consumption varies widely across the world – such as more cheese in Europe or more dried milk in other markets. I am happy to see that globally, per capita dairy consumption is anticipated to grow by around 1% per annum over the next decade. That gives me a lot of hope; the number of cows might not change, but we have a goal to increase milk consumption and milk production because of the per capita income growth that is happening around the world. It’s an exciting industry to be in.
We do have some macrotrends that are affecting all our farmers and, consequently, the rest of the supply chain. Globally, these are volatile commodity markets, rising production costs, energy costs, and supply and demand impacts. On-farm issues include labour shortages, health and disease management (such as the current avian influenza’s impact on US herds), and even water scarcity, which is causing movement in where we keep our cows. Thirdly, we see increasing consumer and government-driven demands related to sustainability, regulations, as well as alternative proteins. These are also shaping the industry and driving efficiency and resilience across the whole supply chain, but specifically at the farmer level.
We are also seeing horizontal consolidation – increasingly bigger farms in more developed markets. Consolidation is also seen in global businesses that supply farms. Furthermore, bigger feed mills, the use of technology and the lack of labour is pushing the adoption of innovations like robotic milking systems and data management, whilst artificial intelligence is being used more and more for better decision-making and herd management. And with methodologies like regenerative agriculture to support new goals and sustainability, all of these points are impactful in our industry.
With precision nutrition and the use of novel feed additives, better nutrition reduces waste in the sector. We can also leverage our global reach to help connect and innovate with purpose to bring new and different innovations in nutrition that help nourish animals and empower the industry. I am excited about how accurate we can be with nutrition, to support nutrient availability requirements to drive the goal of the farm. We have models based on dynamic nutrition, which helps to formulate even more accurately. And then there is how nutrition and nutritional additives can play into sustainability goals. In terms of sustainability, we are well on our way to effectively manage methane, for example.
From products you can just add to feed to using novel ingredients like insect oil, the importance lies in partnerships in the supply chain and a sustainable business model that allows these systems to flourish. I am also excited about better connecting nutrition and herd data and farm management to drive better decision-making and tailoring of diets.
In terms of global challenges, there are many that affect the dairy industry and should be highlighted. We either have to overcome them or we have to evolve because of them. There are 3 I would like to highlight:
- Sustainability – We are becoming more adept in driving sustainability practices. While ruminants are tremendous upcyclers, they have a role in methane production which can really drive climate change. I believe the industry is working hard to address this. These are exciting times in sustainability, but we have to make sure there is a business model that works for farmers.
- Labour shortage – The industry must continue to evolve, embracing technology and tools on-farm to support data management and decision-making. Also, finding ways where that artificial intelligence can help.
- Food security – This, as we know, is a pressing issue for the growing global population. How do we manage efficiency, health and welfare, economic volatility, ingredient availability, prices, varying regional regulations, consumers? These all matter in how we evolve our business and our industry. The farmers and the whole supply chain have a heavy responsibility, but the industry’s resilience and our ability to adapt is encouraging.
Feed additives are important in supporting animals’ immune system status, digestive health, productivity and to mitigate methane. The importance and adoption of feed additives does vary across different farming practices and markets. There are differences based on regulatory requirements, market priorities (demand and supply), ingredient availability, a focus on certain areas. For example, in Europe, there’s a significant focus on additives that improve productivity while reducing environmental impacts such as methane mitigators. In other regions, additives that enhance feed efficiency, rumen health or animal production could be prioritised, taking into account, for example, resources and regulatory conditions. We at Cargill Animal Nutrition have a global team of experts looking at animal nutrition and how we can leverage some of the know-how from research to enable us to find the most effective solutions based on what’s needed by that market.
Cargill Animal Nutrition’s strategy focusses on 3 areas where it can make the most impact: climate, land & water, and people. We know that agriculture plays an important role in addressing the global challenges our world is facing, but it’s only really possible when sustainable solutions are commercially viable for producers that work hard every day to feed the world. When we look at global population growth in the last century, there has been tremendous success in feeding the population. We have seen the industry working together to nourish the world in a sustainable way. A successful livestock industry is where farmers succeed – if they don’t, none of us will.
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