As an undergraduate student working toward a B.A. in English literature and communications, I can’t say I ever necessarily aimed for work experience with magazines like Feed & Grain. My knowledge of feed production was minimal when I began my internship a year ago — both of my parents either lived or worked on family farms growing up, but that generational knowledge of agriculture mostly ended with them.
That’s exactly why I jumped at the opportunity to grow the skills relevant to my future career field, as well as to gain a larger understanding of animal feed production and all the steps it takes to get food to consumers. I can say with confidence it has been one of the most valuable experiences I’ve had in forming my postgraduate goals. Thus, as an outsider looking in, there are five pieces of industry knowledge that I will carry on from my past year writing for WATT Global Media.
1. The resilience of feed producers in all links of the production chain
It’s no one’s surprise that agricultural practices have developed considerably over the years, but with that development has come new sets of challenges. Concerns over automation and artificial intelligence (AI), pollution and climate change, antibiotic resistance and animal welfare, among other things, have made agriculture and feed production tumultuous spaces for workers.
However, I’ve witnessed an admirable deference and universal pride in feed producers on all levels. People from all walks of life and all links in feed production, whether that be nutritionists, researchers, equipment operators, feed mill management, even the folks writing for WATT Global Media on feed production, all understand the importance of what they do in feeding the world.
2. The critical role of feed in global food security
Additionally, I came to understand the farm-to-fork pipeline much better. Chicken breasts don’t magically appear, swaddled in plastic and Styrofoam, ready for contemplation in the meat aisle. A chick is born, raised on feed that is meticulously measured for all the necessary nutrients and dietary supplements, and treated with care to keep it as healthy as possible. It’s butchered, cleaned, packaged and made fit for landing safely on a kitchen table.
Thus, animal feed is a crucial step in global food security, not to be forgotten or overlooked. Without feeding the food itself, there’s no feeding people. The circle of life we learned about in third grade science holds true not only in the wild, but in this highly regulated and systematic environment that keeps shelves stocked. The feed industry is crucial for people around the world.
3. The dynamic nature of the feed industry
As mentioned, feed production is a changing game. With new technology being developed and improved every year, it is only becoming easier and more efficient to carry out the many tasks of the feed industry: The process of grinding and mixing feed, of developing feeds to meet new requirements and overcome different challenges, of transporting feed and even carrying a box from one shelf to another. The way things are done constantly changes, but always with the universal goals of turning a better profit and enhancing the quality of products and services. It’s like any other industry, only its room for growth and betterment seems to widen with every new development.
4. The global and local impacts
Another facet of feed production I’ve come to appreciate over the past year is the breadth of its influence. The effects on local communities and economies cannot be overstated, even as the feed itself produced in those rural communities have regional, national or global impacts. Jobs are created, income and stability provided, and the demands for animal feed establish a continued need for local farms growing feed crops.
On a global scale, of course, much larger farms, factories and feed mills engage in these same practices. The feed industry represents a symbiotic relationship between the people employed and fed by it and its own productivity.
5. The trends driven by a changing world
One last thing I’ve taken away after a year researching feed production is the rise and fall of trends, something I’d only really considered regarding fashion or media consumption. Rising trends like alternative meats, circularity, the phasing out of antibiotic growth promoters, feed mill automation and animal welfare standards represent the new era of feed, while other trends fade out.
Some trends the industry has seen decline in recent years include the use of fishmeal in feed, reliance on monoculture feed crops as staple ingredients, resistance toward digitization, and inefficient energy use. Some of these things aren’t trends so much as the limitations of previous technologies and the 20th century apathy toward sustainability, but nonetheless they are a reflection of how the ethics and perspectives of the industry have changed to reflect the time they’re situated in.
