Producers are faced with new challenges as consumers adapt to eating more meals at home in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Will we return to “normal” when the outbreak subsides, or will new habits create a permanent shift in how we eat? Ken Zuckerberg, lead analyst and senior economist in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division, explains how the pandemic has already affected the food sector and what economic and market trends may emerge.

This episode is part of a special AgFuture series on the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain. Join us to hear how those on the frontlines of the global pandemic are working to overcome adversity and feed the world.

Hosted by Michelle Michael

As lead video producer at Alltech, Michelle travels the globe for the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Michelle spent a decade as a video producer/reporter in Germany, reporting from military hotspots at the height of the war on terrorism. The National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) has twice recognized Michelle as their solo video journalist of the year.

Co-produced by Brandon Whitworth

As the senior media production specialist at Alltech, Brandon co-produces the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty™ documentary series. Brandon is a two-time Emmy Award winning television news photojournalist and three-time nominee. He has received several regional awards from the National Press Photographers Association for excellence in visual storytelling.

The following is an edited transcript of Michelle Michael’s interview with Ken Zuckerberg. Click below to hear the full audio.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is Ken Zuckerberg. Ken is the lead analyst and senior economist in CoBank's Knowledge Exchange division, where he focuses on grains, oilseeds, farm supply and biofuel. That translates to me that, well, you're a numbers guy — is that right, Ken?

Ken:                Correct, although not simply just a numbers guy. The interesting part of the job is going through the numbers and then triangulating with market information to understand, really, where we are, where we're going and what the marketplace may be missing.

Michelle:       So, in your role, you look at data, you look at patterns, you look at trends and economic activity, and you use those predictions to improve business decisions in agriculture. Also, just some background on CoBank: CoBank is one of the largest private providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy. The company is located in Colorado and delivers loans, leases and other financial services to agribusinesses in all 50 states. Is that right, Ken?

Ken:                Generally, that's spot on. We operate within the Farm Credit System, which, as you know, is the largest lender to agriculture in rural America and the United States.

Michelle:       Ken, COVID-19's global spread may continue to impact supply chains and the availability of certain crops, which is also potentially affecting commodity prices and farmers’ planning decisions. How do you look at the risk of COVID-19 from a very high level?

Ken:                Thank you for asking that, to begin with. Strictly speaking, there are five bullet categories of risk facing every economic sector in every region of the world. These categories can be thought of as economic risk, environmental risk, geopolitical risk, societal risk and technological risk. Coronavirus falls strictly under the societal risk bucket, given that it's an infectious disease. However, the dynamics of treating it and what we've seen in terms of the resulting job losses and the massive contraction in economic activity — that actually puts coronavirus into two buckets: both the economic and the societal. It lies at the intersection of those two, and there are sort of broad ramifications for not delaying this quickly. The longer it goes on, the more uncertainty there is. The more uncertainty, the greater the economic damage. Then, because of those, if that scenario unfolds, the longer and harder it is to sort of get back to what people hope to be, back to normal.

Michelle:       Ken, how does COVID-19 impact the food and agriculture sector?

Ken:                Let me start with the labor and supply chains. We've gotten a lot of questions about both recently, and I think it's worth addressing, to begin with. Specialty crops are labor-intensive, and places like California (are) often dependent on noncitizens working in the U.S. either during the season or on a temporary basis — hence, closing borders and limiting temporary work passes to contain the virus spread obviously would be negative. Partially offsetting this, people are losing their jobs in other sectors, such as the restaurant and hospitality industries, and those (people) could theoretically come to work in agriculture, although that remains to be seen.

                        Another issue, of course, is employees that potentially get sick that work in food processing plants, grocery stores and restaurant takeout or delivery. These are some of the issues, from a labor standpoint, that we're monitoring closely. On supply chains, it's a bit of a mixed bag for now, but we're watching closely to see if things change in the future. In a recent report about the spring 2020 planting season, I argue that ag retailers in the U.S. have adequate supplies of crop inputs to deliver to customers this season. So, from a farm input supply chain perspective, we're not so concerned. We don't think it's a near-term risk. It is clear, though, that, given the amount of imported fertilizers, chemicals and feed ingredients made in China and brought to the U.S., the longer this goes on, the bigger that risk could be down the line, but we view that as a forward risk rather than a current one.

                        A more concerning matter, with respect to supply chains in the U.S., is truck drivers and truckers and transporters dealing with the splintered delivery networks and an upsurge in retail demand as consumers start buying more food at grocery stores and away from restaurants. The surge in that area is sort of causing bottlenecks in other delivery channels. Again, we are monitoring this for agriculture, production ag. We don't see too fat of a risk in the near term, but the situation is very dynamic.

Michelle:       Of course, facing uncertainty in a volatile industry is nothing novel at all for the American agriculture industry. Farmers are very hearty. They're full of perseverance and innovative thinking. Will farmers and producers rise to the occasion, or will this time be different? What are the critical factors at play today versus what you expected as you headed into 2020?

Ken:                I agree with you about your assertion of the American farmer. He and she do not go down easily. I have confidence that, generally speaking, production agriculture will rise to the occasion. However, there are a few critical factors and variables that the industry has to deal with that, quite candidly, they probably haven't dealt with ever before, even during the Great Depression. The continued economic uncertainty and volatility in markets, shipping network supply chains overseas and the shocks to demand — these are going to be negative issues for agriculture exports in the very near term.

                        Another pressure is, given the high levels of global financial market (pressure) on people, the more this goes on, the more that foreign investors tend to drive into U.S. dollar-denominated assets, meaning the dollar. The stronger the dollar, the more expensive our products are for overseas buyers, and, obviously, that would be a negative. The greater strength in the dollar, the more pressure on how competitive ag exports are relative to other major production regions.

Michelle:       One of the challenges crop producers were facing before this pandemic was global trade wars that were occurring, particularly with China. What has changed since COVID-19?

Ken:                In one sense, the entire world has changed with COVID-19. Obviously, the critical questions that we're all asking ourselves are “Can things return to normal — or, alternatively, a new normal?” and “What will domestic and export demand look like for ag products when we get there?” Right now, it's too early to make a broad call on any of that. That being said, U.S. agriculture has a reputation for very high quality. Recently, we've seen an uptick in demand for certain crops, such as wheat. Here in the U.S., we have adequate stocks, high-quality and attractive prices. China has been a buyer there, and they've also been buying soybeans and pork. Last week, in fact, was a record for U.S. pork exports to China.

                        The world has changed. There have been demand shocks, market shocks, economic shocks, since both COVID-19 and the Saudi Arabia-Russia oil price war has broken out. However, we do see agriculture as a go-to sector. As people commonly say, you'll always have to eat. So, it does tend to be resilient, even when the other parts of the economy are in trouble.

Michelle:       Farmers are, of course, used to sacrifice. But when it comes to financial stability, what exactly are farmers facing today in the midst of COVID-19?

Ken:                I think it's important to step back a minute and discuss what was the situation prior to the current crisis. Before that, crop farming had already entered the seventh or eighth year of a difficult pricing cycle. When we combined both crop and livestock farming together, the industry revenues actually had been flat with the 2011 level. However, production expenses continue to rise. The industry, in total, has been operating under profit pressure.

                        Another negative is that work in capital has been declining while debt has been increasing to record levels. Debt-to-net-cash income is also very high for the industry on a consolidated basis. While reported numbers show that net farming income rose in 2019, it did so only because of substantial government payments. Backing that out, income was actually down.

                        The bottom line is that farming, in general, has been under some pressure, and there is a massive divide between profitable and unprofitable farmers. The weaker ones, unfortunately, will have limited flexibility to play through the current crisis, and they ultimately may be forced to sell, exit or consolidate operations. We saw an uptick in financial restructurings for U.S. farms in 2019. Unfortunately, we think this could continue in 2020.

Michelle:       Are farmers even able to prepare for something like that? This is unprecedented, of course.

Ken:                COVID-19 is unique in that, regardless of income level, industry expertise or desire, very few businesspeople in general were adequately prepared for this. I think the characteristics that allow a U.S. farmer to manage through here come down to A) are you a low-cost operator? Do you have command of the variable inputs that are required to produce your crop? And/or B) are you overextended? So, the more financially conservative a farmer is, the greater he or she has the ability to operate beyond the current season.

Michelle:       Let's talk about trends for a moment, since that's definitely your expertise. What short-term trends are we going to see in agriculture as related to COVID-19?

Ken:                At the risk of observing the obvious, how consumers are purchasing food and what they are buying has clearly changed since the onslaught of COVID-19. We obviously first saw bulk purchases of Clorox products, hand sanitizers, toilet paper and canned goods. Now, a shift is happening that's more substantial — away from sit-down restaurants, many of which are closed in areas that have shelter-in-place restrictions, and the shift has gone towards buying food from supermarkets and other food retailers, including mail-order, home delivery and food delivery. Those are some of the short-term trends and observations we've seen that are likely to continue as long as this crisis is underway.

Michelle:       Can we, in any way, predict the longer-term effects from this pandemic?

Ken:                It's very difficult. What I think is fascinating is that, to the extent one observed a few years ago that some of the higher-growth categories in food were purchases of food either through fast-casual or specialty restaurants, that was in some ways cannibalizing sales at the supermarket. Now, the supermarket is the go-to place, with lines out the door and, oftentimes, limits of people going in. I think purchases of food for home consumption will probably continue at a greater level than had been (seen) during previous shocks, and part of the issue there is if people are genuinely concerned about being around other people that may get them sick, I think there's a likelihood that at least this dynamic will continue for a while.

                        Predicting long-term trends is inherently complicated. What I know I fundamentally feel is that this, too, will eventually pass. I think the business in the industrial case of food service out of the home will continue. But getting back to the same level of consumption out of the house? It's hard to determine when that's going to take place.

Michelle:       Of course, many people are under stay-at-home orders. Social distancing has pretty much everybody stuck inside their own home at a time when gasoline prices are way down. What is the impact of the recent drop in gasoline prices on agricultural production?

Ken:                There are two sides to that coin. The first one is that you're correct in that fuel and energy are important inputs — and costly ones — in agricultural production. The drop in gas prices, all else being equal, is very positive operationally. However, the demand shock and the price decline in gasoline prices has carried over to the ethanol industry to the point where the dynamics of operating an ethanol plant with margins under pressure because of the current price and demand dynamics is extraordinary. Unfortunately, the recent drop in gasoline prices is a mixed bag, and the focus now is on what the ethanol industry can and will be able to do to reposition itself to survive this downturn.

Michelle:       It's hard to think about opportunity in the middle of a crisis, but if that's at all possible, what opportunities might you see coming from this?

Ken:                I think there are opportunities. Crisis and chaos always give innovative people an opportunity to capture and deliver value. This time will be no different. Here are a few ideas about potential opportunities. Unexpectedly, wheat is seeing a surge in demand with the hoarding, if you will, of shelf-stable food at the supermarket. While this may only be temporary, it's interesting. Wheat is seeing a little bit of opportunity.

                        Labor shortages could help accelerate the adoption of farm robots to handle spraying and picking fruit crops. We have a number of companies that are already operating in that space, and that could be an interesting place to be going forward. Increased demand for food and grocery deliveries may also be the saving grace for certain meal kit and online food platform delivery companies. Finally, a renaissance in home-prepared meals and gourmet cooking might lead to increased buying of fancy pots, pans and kitchen accessories. In some ways, we see dollars shifting to the Krogers of the world, as well as the Amazons of the world, as well as some of the Blue Aprons and others. But who knows? Maybe the fancy home-houseware companies could also see a pickup here during or post-crisis.

Michelle:       Ken, how do you envision market segments? What I mean is restaurants are shutting down, but grocery stores are staying open. How do you envision market segments dictating supply chain moving forward?

Ken:                Much as we had discussed before, it's very hard to know whether this will be a temporary bull market in grocery stores relative to restaurants — how long that will last, will it be permanent, or there will be a shift. It's very hard to estimate that. That being said, I think there will undoubtedly be either stresses or disruptions related to packaging, shipping and delivery but also the product mix. For example, people that pay $50 for a New York strip steak in a restaurant may or may not be willing to pay a premium at the supermarket. I'm actually not sure; I think the likelihood is that they won't. There are other product categories that also face similar dynamics. With more people eating at home, there's a greater need for a variety of consumer staple foods. To the extent that that will be in demand, that will ultimately shift priorities both in production and distribution.

Michelle:       American farmers provide a commodity that consumers will always need. It's important to remember that the bottleneck in supply and demand is really only a temporary obstacle as health officials everywhere focus on containing the coronavirus outbreak. At the end of the day, Ken, what is your biggest concern at this time?

Ken:                My biggest concern is that we see globally interconnected markets that are, at the end of the day, very sensitive to competence. The good news about food and ag production is that this industry can be, oftentimes, countercyclical. When the broad economy is under pressure, food and agriculture can be a steady staple. As we said before, we have to eat. The risk is that the longer we go through a period where there's uncertainty, the greater the structural changes are in demand, and how to rectify that. The bigger risk for me is time. The longer this COVID-19 crisis goes out, the longer the economic uncertainty.

Michelle:       Ken Zuckerberg, senior economist from CoBank, thank you so much for joining us today.

Ken:                Wonderful to be with you.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit Alltech.com.

Click here for additional COVID-19 resources.

It’s no secret that our farmers, ranchers and producers have particularly demanding jobs, which can be physically and mentally exhausting. Lesley Kelly is the farmer behind the popular blog, “High Heels and Canola Fields,” and a passionate advocate for supporting mental health within the agriculture industry. She joins us to discuss the emotional toll of farming, particularly during this time of unprecedented uncertainty, and shares the small steps that anyone can take toward improving their mental well-being.

The following is an edited transcript of Michelle Michael’s interview with Lesley Kelly. Click below to hear the full audio.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is Lesley Kelly. Lesley, you're the head and the heart behind the blog called High Heels and Canola Fields. You're a wife, you're a mother and a farmer from Saskatchewan, and we want to talk to you today about one of your many passions: mental health. Lesley, you believe the success of any farm operation hinges on the well-being of the farmer, and you personally make mental health a priority, and you don’t shy away from talking about mental health. Tell us about yourself and your family, and how did you begin down this path?

Lesley:           Yeah. Well, thank you, first and foremost, for having me. Mental health is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, and what I've been trying to do over the last few years is reduce that stigma and break that silence that so many of us in agriculture are living in. Ten years ago, if you would've said I would become a mental health advocate, it wasn't even on my radar, but through struggles within my family, seeing my friends go through struggles, our fellow farmers, it really became a priority — especially a couple of years ago, after my husband and I did a live video sharing our mental health journey. I shared that I had postpartum depression after our second child was born, and my husband, a farmer, is living with anxiety mainly attributed to farm stress. So, we did this live video sharing what we had done together as a team and individually to really help overcome those challenges, and the reception we got afterwards was nothing that we've had or could have ever anticipated. That, really then, was the catalyst for myself and three other individuals in Saskatchewan for starting a not-for-profit called Do More Agriculture that is championing the mental well-being of our producers.

Michelle:       Before you started down this path of making mental health a priority, were you aware that there was so much of a need for this?

Lesley:           No. It wasn't until we did the video, because we kept thinking — my husband, Matt, and I kept thinking, "Are we alone in this?" After hearing from a few friends about their struggles, we thought, “There must be more of us out there.” We aired the video, and afterwards — after we pressed "stop" — the text messages, the phone calls, the direct messages, the social media, it blew up. It wasn't anything that we ever thought (would happen), and 99% of it was positive. People were looking for hope, and people were looking for that extra bit of encouragement to raise their hand and say, "You know what? I am going through something" or "I have gone through something and I didn’t know where to go or who to talk to or what to say." That really made us look at mental health as not just us but, really, an industry that needed more help and support and resources.

Michelle:       Absolutely. You have quite a following on your blog and on your social media sites, and you seem so passionate about mental health. You mentioned previously, you talked about the organization that you co-founded, Do More Agriculture Foundation. Can you talk about the specific goals of that foundation?

Lesley:           We are trying to do three things. The first one is to increase awareness about mental health. Our industry — agriculture — we haven't really talked about mental health in the past, so there is a lot of unknown. We're trying to bring awareness to agriculture as to what mental health is and what it takes for our farmers to be mentally well. The second is to create community. Our landscape in agriculture is changing. More people are moving to the cities. Our small towns are decreasing in size. It really takes a community to help our farmers around us, so we're trying to change that and build community, whether it's online or at events, and create a hub of resources, that community of health, so farmers know where to go if they are having a hard time. The third is research. We're trying to help those in research to understand what farmers need when it comes to support and knowing more about mental health in agriculture.

Michelle:       I wonder if mental health is more of an issue in agriculture — or is it around the world, globally, in all professions, and it's just now being talked about in agriculture?

Lesley:           Yeah. When it comes to mental health in agriculture, there are so many unknowns. It has been a recent discussion over the past couple of years that has come more to light. I have been part of campaigns where farming and agriculture was included, and it is a societal concern, but that societal concern — moving that needle, having a positive discussion — has then transcended into agriculture to help start those conversations. I do believe it is a worldwide concern, and I hope that, in agriculture, we can continue the positive momentum that we've had the last couple of years of starting a conversation and keeping it going.

Michelle:       It's no secret that farmers and ranchers have very demanding jobs. You know that firsthand. At times like these, amidst COVID-19 — it's unprecedented, but at times like these, there's economic uncertainty. There's vulnerability, still, to weather. There's isolation, which is obviously worse on someone who already suffers from something like anxiety or depression. What words of encouragement or advice do you have for fellow producers out there during this crisis?

Lesley:           Farming is an amazing lifestyle. It's an amazing industry to be in. Our roots are established in strength and perseverance, but sometimes, that could be a weakness, where you put your head down and work through it, and sometimes, that might not be the best. So, what we're trying to encourage in those around us — there are three main things, and that's to talk, ask and listen. By doing these three small things, you could really make a big impact on yourself and those around you. When we say “talk,” we want people to talk more about mental health. Talk to your family, your friends, your fellow farmers. Check in on them and talk about mental health. We don’t want these conversations to be hushed, because we know that if it just takes one person to raise their hand and say, "Hey, I need help," that could be a catalyst for encouraging others to get help that they need, too.

                        The second is to ask, and that really means to check in on people around you. Ask how they are doing. Also, check in and ask yourself how you are feeling. The third is to listen. I know that by listening, you don’t have to be an expert when it comes to mental health, but listening to someone — taking all of their struggles and pouring them out, taking the weight of the world off of their shoulders — can be a life-saving difference. It could make a life-saving impact. Also, listen to yourself and ask how you can help yourself through a really, really hard time.

Michelle:       Do you think farmers feel additional pressure at this time to keep the food supply chain moving, or is this business as usual for farmers?

Lesley:           Well, I'm not too sure about the pressure to keep it going as a farmer. I know, with us, seeding is right around the corner, and our goal is to keep putting that crop in every year. We're facing some worry and anxiety around will we have enough crop input supply, or what will that do to transportation if our plant or tractor break down? Will there be parts available? I can see or I've heard from other parts of the supply chain how they have more pressure. Transportation, frontline staff at grocery stores — that's where, probably, right now, is the most pressure.

Michelle:       I love what's happening in the background here, because it shows everyone is trying to maintain a sense of normalcy when nothing in the world feels normal right now. Is that your children at the background?

Lesley:           Yes. They are hungry, I believe.

Michelle:       Maybe you can explain to us how you're managing, because we talked about how, when you have something like anxiety or depression, you already feel isolated, and the social distancing might make it worse. How can somebody combat those feelings of isolation during this time? What advice do you have for them on how to maintain relationships and positivity when they feel so isolated and, quite frankly, are distanced from their loved ones in some ways?

Lesley:           Yeah. Right now, I can see for myself, being so extroverted, that I'm having a hard time being away from my family and friends. I think the one thing, once COVID is past us, on the top of my list is hugging my mom and my dad, who I haven't been able to see.

                        What I would encourage others who are having a hard time and need that connection with people is to keep continuing to reach out. What anxiety and depression do to us is they make us go into a box. They make us become distant, but continue to put that step forward. Every day, for me, it's making a goal that I'm going to check in on this person. I'm going to send a text, and not just a text saying, "Hey, how are you doing?" but even further, sharing what that person means to you because you haven't been able to see them in such a long time. Then, on the flipside is if you know in the past of someone who has had mental health challenges, who is going through a mental illness, for you to reach out to them, to have that text, send that text, to do that virtual call, because those can make a world of difference.

                        What my husband and I are doing right now inside of our home is we're journaling. We're doing art classes. We're trying to do as many family things to bring that connectedness home, and then the one thing that really helps my husband and I is to get outside, get that fresh air, feel that sun, do things, check off things on the to-do list that really make that anxiety lessen as we're coming into the seeding and planting season.

Michelle:       Figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that, at least here in America, those who work in agriculture have some of the highest suicide rates of any professional group. Is there a similar concern or a problem where you are?

Lesley:           Yeah. We actually, in Canada, we don’t have any stats on farmer suicides, but yeah, we've looked to our friends in the States who have that research, and it is very — that's a hard number to hear, so my goal, by me talking about mental health, being an advocate, co-founding Do More, is to ultimately change those numbers.

Michelle:       Farmers, of course, are often in rural areas with very limited access, in some cases, to mental healthcare. How does this compound an already escalating problem?

Lesley:           Yeah. There are so many things that, as farmers, we face that are outside of our control, whether (it’s the) economy, like what you've mentioned, but then, it's (also) our access to support. During harvest or calving, as a farmer, it's very, very hard just to pick up and leave and drive four to five hours into the city to get that support — and then, sometimes, that support might not understand farming. They might not understand the world of agriculture and that it's not a nine-to-five job, that there are so many layers and so many things that are happening on the farm. So, at Do More Ag, what we're trying to do is bring that support — to know what support is out there and then bring that support to agriculture, so those that are servicing us understand our world and we can help our farmers.

Michelle:       What are some of those resources that are out there for farmers? Where can they find help dealing with this additional stress and anxiety that everyone is feeling right now?

Lesley:           Well, for us up in Canada, first and foremost, they can go to our website at domore.ag, where we have a list of resources that are set out provincially, but those who are in the States, they can look to their extensions. There are so many resources right now that are online, especially during COVID, that you can access on your computer or you can text support or you can call someone, whether that could be a mental health service hotline or your local hospital.

Michelle:       Are there any certain signs, certain telltale symptoms, that farmers should be aware of and acknowledge for themselves so that they know they're headed down a dangerous path?

Lesley:           Yeah. When it comes to mental health, it might look different for everyone, but my biggest advice when I'm chatting with others about those signs and those symptoms is that we all know our normals and those normals of people around us. If their acting or if their behaviors or feelings or thoughts are outside of that typical normal, that's where that could be a red flag to start to have those discussions about mental health. For my husband, his farm stress — what we saw him go through is he stopped eating. He stopped sleeping. One of the biggest physical signs was he started to have panic attacks where he couldn't breathe, excessive sweating, just racing thoughts of worry and anxiety, so that made us really realize that it's something — it wasn't just a little bit of worry and then work through it.

                        For me, having postpartum, I became quite emotional. It was hard for me to call a friend. I really became socially distant, isolated. The other part with Matt, what I saw — and this could be (common) with those on the farm — is he had a really hard time making just day-to-day decisions. Just small decisions, they really stopped him in his track. That was when we saw each other outside of our normals and said, "Hey, I think that something is going on that's bigger than what we first anticipated."

Michelle:       Yeah. That goes right along with my next question. When farmers ignore mental health, just like chronic pain, poor mental health can make it difficult to manage everyday stressors in farmers' lives. How were you personally impacted, or what is the worry beyond just what you had to do on the farm?

Lesley:           Yeah. Mental health is not something that just affects the individual person. I had personal experience that, when someone is suffering from a mental health challenge or distress or an illness, it really impacts the whole family. It can impact the farming operation. You really need that support system, that rally of people, your cheerleaders around you, to help you get through it, because sometimes, for Matt, he didn’t think anything was wrong. It was something that was his normal for so long, so it really took us to champion and help him through that really hard time, but it can impact day-to-day operations. It can impact your sales. It can impact getting the crop in the ground. It can impact during calving season. It's not just an impact of your mental health. Mental health can impact everything in your life if it's not addressed or if you don’t have the proper mental health techniques to get you through those hard times.

Michelle:       Right now, especially, there seems to be a renewed sense of appreciation for farmers. People are showing appreciation more than ever before. Store shelves are stocked with milk and eggs and everything, for that matter. I've talked to farmers and producers firsthand who are hearing for the first time ever, "Thank you." Does that help with mental health from an agricultural perspective?

Lesley:           I don’t know, as farmers, if we do look for that recognition. I know, for my husband and I, it's the lifestyle and showing our kids a new experience or life lessons that come from the farm, but when it comes to consumers that are in a different world, if they're in the cities and something that's so far removed from agriculture or farming, when they see how we do as farmers — the 2% of us (who) impact so many things, whether it's the economy, getting food on the table — that "thank you" could really mean a world of difference to someone who is going through a really hard time.

Michelle:       From the consumer end of things, is there anything that we can do to bolster the feelings of love and appreciation toward our farmers and our food producers around the world, especially when they're working so hard to feed us during this pandemic?

Lesley:           Oh, that's a big question. For me, it would be to continue supporting your farmers. Continue buying that food. You know what? What makes me smile at the end of the day is just connecting with people now, through social distancing or physical distancing. It's getting to understand other people's world, and if I have the opportunity to connect with someone who lives in the city and hear those words of support and love and that kindness that the world needs right now, that, to me, really brings a smile to my face.

Michelle:       What do you think might change in regards to mental health after this crisis is over? How will it change us?

Lesley:           I'm being quite optimistic. I'm looking at it as, now, because of our world going through something that is so unforeseen, mental health is a priority. People will be looking at mental health as one of the top things that they need to make a priority — (and) make themselves a priority. I'm also looking forward to seeing the changes of the mental health support. We all love to go into or would like to have that face-to-face contact with someone, but as farmers, we might not have that luxury, so I'm seeing and hope to see even more support, whether it's texting, calling or those virtual conferences of bringing support to people who might not be able to get that face-to-face connection.

Michelle:       Lesley Kelly is our guest today. Her goal is quite simple: to make the agriculture industry stronger and, quite simply, to break down the culture of toughness encouraged among farmers so that they, too, can discuss mental health. Lesley, thank you so much for joining us today.

Lesley:           Thank you for having me.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit Alltech.com.

Click here for additional COVID-19 resources.

This episode is part of a special AgFuture series on the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain. Join us to hear how those on the frontlines of the global pandemic are working to overcome adversity and feed the world.

Hosted by Michelle Michael

As lead video producer at Alltech, Michelle travels the globe for the company’s award-winning Planet of PlentyTM documentary series. Michelle spent a decade as a video producer/reporter in Germany, reporting from military hotspots at the height of the war on terrorism. The National Press Photographer's Association (NPPA) has twice recognized Michelle as their solo video journalist of the year.

Co-produced by Brandon Whitworth

As the senior media production specialist at Alltech, Brandon co-produces the company’s award-winning Planet of Plenty TM documentary series. Brandon is a two-time Emmy Award winning television news photojournalist and three-time nominee. He has received several regional awards from the National Press Photographers Association for excellence in visual storytelling.

With more pressure being placed on the global food supply chain, the spotlight is on the crucial role of farmers and producers. Carl Chaney of Chaney’s Dairy in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA, shares his perspective on how the crisis is impacting his dairy, the industry and consumer perceptions of agriculture.  

This episode is part of a special AgFuture series on the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain. Join us to hear how those on the frontlines of the global pandemic are working to overcome adversity and feed the world.

The following is an edited transcript of Michelle Michael’s interview with Carl Chaney. Click below to hear the full audio.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is Carl Chaney from Chaney's Dairy in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Now, Carl, you pasteurize the milk on your farm from your cows. That allows you to sell fluid milk (and) make value-added products such as cheese, yogurt and, a very important part of your business, ice cream that is made with the milk from your cows.

Carl:                Yes, ma'am.

Michelle:       Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you're the only place in Kentucky making ice cream that comes from your own milk.

Carl:                That is exactly right.

Michelle:       Now, Kentucky, of course, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases — they're rising, but at a slower rate than some other states. Carl, are you staying sane in these times of social distancing? And what does that mean on a farm? Is it business as usual?

Carl:                It's pretty close to business as usual. I have heard where some farmers are being asked to not be around the barn when people come up to pick up the milk. For us, that has not been a problem. Part of our milk still goes off-farm, and right now, we're at about three days' worth of milk production that we process ourselves.

Michelle:       Can you explain to us what your day-to-day is like right now in the dairy business?

Carl:                Sure. Right now, like I said, it's not changing a whole lot, and I suspect quite a bit of agriculture is that way. I get up every morning. The first thing I do is I try to scrape the slabs. I try to feed the cow, stir the pack, I will grind feed during the day, and then you do it again in the evening. I've got my niece, Dory, that takes care of the calves. I guess the part that concerns us more than anything is that, whenever you go off-farm, what are you subjecting yourself to? I know, when we deliver milk, one of my questions is: are we safe? Are we safe to go into the grocery store, take milk, put milk on the shelves?

                        Now, I'll tell you: what we're doing is we're not talking to very many people. Whenever we get back to the truck after every store, then, we take wipes and wipe off our hands, wipe off the steering wheel, anything that we can think of. Because my wife and I both — I'm 66. I won't tell you her age, she might not appreciate that, but she's a little younger than me. We're in that age group to where I think we have to be very careful.

Michelle:       Especially in terms of agriculture, this is really an unprecedented situation. I have heard from other producers that there is a significant increase in demand for eggs and milk, in particular. What are farmers focusing on in the dairy world right now? And how are they meeting that demand, if there is an increase?

Carl:                Well, like, for us, our cows, we've got a Lely robot, and the robot is really doing a great job. Our Jerseys are averaging about 70 pounds of milk a day, and our focus is on trying to have as much milk as possible every day so that we can have plenty of product, whether it's for the gentleman that picks up our milk or it's for ourselves, to make sure we have some. About a week, a week and a half ago was when the big push was for milk. I saw, I think, where a lot of the stores are running out of milk. I think this week has not been as bad. I think everybody was kind of caught off guard, and I think, now, the supply chain has been restocked.

Michelle:       In your opinion, do you see lessons in agriculture right now that we can take away from this situation in regards to how the food supply works?

Carl:                What I'm seeing right now is I think people now are more appreciative. We do agritourism here on the farm. Last year, we had almost 14,000 people come down to the farm to see the cows, to see how the milk is produced. Unfortunately, for us, now, we've closed that down. We're not letting people come down to the farm because I think there are still a lot of things that we just don't know. That has always been a very important thing to us. But I think, now, as we're going into the stores, we're finding people that are very, very appreciative of what we do. I thank people because we are able to see the consumer, where most dairy farmers are not able to. They produce a product, the co-op picks it up and then it goes on the shelf. Our face is on the milk, more or less, when they pick it up, so they know us and they talk to us, which is really nice. Right now, there's a very nice, big appreciation — not just for us, but, I think, for all of agriculture, all of dairy farms.

Michelle:       When things return to normal, will you be forced to make changes to your operation based on the impact of the outbreak now or any insights that you might have gained from it?

Carl:                Well, of course. Like with the agritourism, that's a big part of our business. We will make sure that we have a buffer built in because, right now, up at our ice cream store/restaurant, our revenues are about 20%, considering what they were last year at this time. So, what we're trying to do is we're trying to keep all of our employees as best as we can and keep them working, because this will be over. This will come to an end, and when that happens, we need to be ready to ramp up pretty quickly, I think.

                        I think it's like people who went through the Depression. They always had that in the back of their minds. My dad was one. He would never throw away anything. I don't think I understood that, but you know, I think I'm beginning to understand a little bit better now what they went through from what we've gone through and what we'll look to in the future.

Michelle:       Absolutely. Just going back to something you said previously, you mentioned that people feel more appreciative right now. Have you seen any particular instances of how this situation is impacting the way people perceive agriculture, either from a governmental perspective or from the consumer perspective?

Carl:                Well, it's the same thing. Whenever there's a snowstorm, milk and bread, that's what everybody talks about. Well, this is managed, but to a worse situation, and so people have had to do without. When you do without, then you respect more what you didn't have. I think, now, these folks — and I mean, again, there was one night we went out and delivered milk. At one store, we had two people that stopped and said, "We really appreciate everything you all are doing to keep milk on the shelves." I'm fortunate that I get to hear that. I wish every dairy farmer that's out there, I wish they could have heard that. I wish they could hear that, “Hey, what you all are doing is important and we appreciate you.” Because you don't really appreciate anything until you don't have it. It's just the way it is.

Michelle:       At the end of the day, you hit the nail on the head there. It seems that, right now, people are talking about healthcare workers as heroes. They're talking about truck drivers as heroes. Right now, I'd put farmers and producers into that same category. What are your thoughts on that? To hear the people say thank you — how does it make you feel?

Carl:                Well, it just makes you feel like all of this work that we dairy farmers have been doing every day, every day of the year, for the last five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 years, it's finally like, well, we appreciate that you now thank us for what we're doing, but we've been doing this. We do this every day of the year. We don't do this just when you're short a meal. We're taking care of these cows every day. So, I don't think people understand that, and I don't think they appreciate that.

                        Most of the people that come to the farm, they don't, they still don't get it. The kids, they don't get it that we milk the cows. Most farmers are milking their cows twice a day every day. I tell people we milked in a barn for 54 years, a barn that we milked in twice a day every day for 54 years, and we never missed a milking. People are just like, "You’ve got to be kidding me." I'm like, "Yes, it's what we do. It's our life."

Michelle:       Right now, what you're seeing on social media is so much about this panic buying, the empty shelves. What message do you have for consumers here in the U.S., or right here in Kentucky? Should people be worried that milk is disappearing altogether anytime soon? Is there enough out there?

Carl:                Yeah, there's plenty of milk. I think the biggest problem was that this caught everybody off guard. It caught us off guard. We checked the shelves, we delivered milk on Friday, we checked the shelves on Sunday, and the shelves were in good shape. Monday, when they shut down in Kentucky, when they shut down the restaurants, it scared everybody. By Monday night, I had a friend call me and said, "Hey, why don't you have any milk over at the store?" And I said, "Well, we do." And he said, “There's not a gallon or a half gallon on the shelf.” That night, we went and we delivered milk.

                        I think it caught everybody off guard. What we're seeing this week, now, it's a little bit more back to normal. I think people have had a chance — the processing plants, the truckers and everybody now have had a chance to catch their breath, see what the need is, get it out there. I don't think that there's the problem that there was last week.

Michelle:       All around the world right now, in the middle of all this crisis, we have heard lots of stories about just random acts of human-kindness during these times of struggle. Have you heard any stories like that in Bowling Green or from any of your other friends who farm? Have you heard anything special happening in the world of agriculture that we have not heard about yet?

Carl:                Well, it's just, I think there's lots of people out there that, when they see an opportunity — I know now that the schools are closed. We had a lady that's actually a family member, and she was talking about how her school, how they were doing, like, grab-and-go, where they fix lunches for the kids and the kids drive by in cars, their parents drive by in their cars, and they hand it to them, grab-and-go. So, we were fortunate enough to be able to supply some milk for them. Because especially when it was short, I think there was a panic, and I think this kind of let people know, you know what, every farmer will probably have a chance to do something. That was our chance. We're also looking at other ways, because we all can do more.

                        We're fortunate that we're out here in a rural area. The people that live in the cities, I really worry about them, but this hits everywhere. It doesn't hit just a city. It will hit rural areas also, so we all have to be very careful.

Michelle:       It almost seems, at this time, it's a real reminder that — I've heard from producers all around the world that people think milk comes from the grocery store, that bread comes from the grocery, that eggs come from the store. Is this a reminder of what goes on behind the scenes?

Carl:                Oh, for sure. But all of us need a wake-up call every now and then. It's like I've always said: There are things I don't appreciate. Every morning when I get up, what do I do? I go over and cut the light switch on. I expect electricity. I expect the lights to come on. I go over to the sink; I cut the water on. Water comes right through the pipe. It's just like, now, consumers go to the grocery store. Milk is not there. Oh, my gosh, well, what if I went one morning to cut the lights on and the lights didn't come out? What if the water didn't come through the pipe? Now, we all are getting an opportunity to say, “Hey, everybody is important, and we all have to do our job.”

Michelle:       Carl Chaney, we certainly appreciate everything you're doing to keep milk on the shelves. You're from Chaney's Dairy in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Carl:                You're so welcome.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit alltech.com.

Click here for additional COVID-19 resources.

As COVID-19 continues to impact communities around the world, the strength of the global food supply chain must be maintained. We spoke with Andrea Capitani, business manager for Alltech Italy, who shares how those working on the frontlines are overcoming adversity to provide food for families. What can we learn from one of the hardest-hit regions of the world?

This episode is part of a special AgFuture series on the impact of COVID-19 on the food supply chain. Join us to hear how those on the frontlines of the global pandemic are working to overcome adversity and feed the world.

The following is an edited transcript of Michelle Michael’s interview with Andrea Capitani. Click below to hear the full audio.

Michelle:       Hello! I'm Michelle Michael. In this special series of AgFuture, we're talking with those working along the food supply chain about the impact of COVID-19. My guest today is Andrea Capitani, business manager for Alltech Italy. Andrea, you're in a really tough spot right now. The world is in a tough spot, but especially you, your friends, your family, your team in Italy. You're the hardest hit right now during this pandemic. Can you give us an update on how you're doing day-to-day — not from a business viewpoint, not from a work viewpoint, but personally? How are you holding up? What are you seeing today?

Andrea:          Okay. Ciao, everybody. The story started a few weeks ago. It seems like years, but it's only a few weeks that we are completely shut down. We live our life in our house. Only a few people can travel, and for specific reasons. The rest of the people stay at home. Staying in the house with your family or with your loves or friends, whoever you live with, for days and days without leaving the house is quite challenging for everybody. We're so used to meeting with people, going to the restaurants, doing shopping, and now, those activities are completely gone. There's no social activity anymore. We can only speak with people through FaceTime or WhatsApp, videos in general. From an Italian perspective, we are more social than other cultures, and it is quite challenging, so this is how we live, and I don't know how long it will be.

Michelle:       What are you feeling as you're, like me, just looking out the window? What are you feeling? How are you managing emotionally day-to-day?

Andrea:          My suggestion, what I promised to myself and what I try to suggest to anybody: We need to stay busy. We need to keep our brain and the body — it depends on where you live — as busy as possible. If you start thinking or overthinking on what can happen, what could be, you become crazy. So, what we try to do — myself, my wife, my friends — we try to stay in contact and to keep our mental activity running as normal. We work through telephone or computer, of course, and we have social activities with those tools, so it keeps you busy as much as you can.

Michelle:       In terms of agriculture there in Italy, how are farmers and producers holding up? What are they facing during these unprecedented times? It's probably changing daily.

Andrea:          Yeah. There are two faces of the medal here: there is the reality and there is the reality that's shown from the industry. The reality is that farmers, they started to — the milk processors, the cheese producers — considering that restaurants are closed and we also cannot export anymore as we did in the past, the social life is not so social, so there are some goods, some foods, especially, that are completely forgotten — but for other foods, like fresh milk or meat, eggs, people still eat.

                        What farmers are facing is that they keep working as normal. The cheese and milk processors, for example, told them that they have to drop production as much as possible because they don't know what to do with the milk because the cheese is not sold. The mozzarella, Parmigiano-Regiano, whatever, is not sold as before, so they have to try to reduce the production without compromising the health of the cows or the animals in general because, sooner or later, it'll start back as normal, hopefully.

                        They are very stressed because they don't know what to do with the milk. The price of the milk dropped significantly, by 30% to 40%. In some cases, the mozzarella producers, the cheese factories, they didn't collect the milk, so the farmer has the milk in the farm and they don't know what to do with the milk, so they tried to freeze the milk, but you cannot freeze everything. For the other sectors, the eggs, they don't have any problem because people stay home and they normally cook, so they produce whatever they can in the house with the kids. The meat is the same. The sector of the agri-industry that is suffering much more at the moment here in Italy is the milk.

Michelle:       We talked a little bit about the shutdown of restaurants and the social scene and the lack of a need for some items, and that's certainly affecting ag right now, but is it offset by an increase in grocery sales, for example?

Andrea:          Yes, this is the fact. Statistics, you don't know if those are true or not, but I read recently that the groceries, the supermarkets, the big stores, they increased the sales of milk, eggs, flour, all the basic foods, significantly — by 50%, 60%, 80%. The consumption isn't that bad because people are still here and they have to eat. They don't go to the restaurants, but they eat at home.

                        What I think is making a difference is we have many tourists here during the year, especially now in the springtime, and I believe that a million tourists come here every year, so those guys aren’t here and those guys are not eating. This is why some foods are suffering more than others — for example, the wine. The wine is another sector that is suffering a lot because if you don't go to the restaurant, you normally don't drink a bottle of wine at home, or you don't buy many bottles. Also, the flours. The flours market is a niche market, but it's still an important business for us here in Italy. It's not for Alltech in general, but they cannot even sell the flours, so they stopped producing, and they don't know what to do with the flours. We're already in production. Some foods are okay. Some others are in big trouble.

Michelle:       Andrea, focusing on the livestock, are some livestock sectors affected more than others at this time?

Andrea:          Just the dairy cows and buffaloes. Those are the two sectors in livestock, in general, that are paying the bill. For the other species, there's no real difference between now and a few months ago. For eggs, for example, and poultry meat, broiler meat, it's even better now because the consumption grew a lot. Also, prices are linked to the growth. They are selling the eggs and the meat at a higher price, so they are quite happy, if we can say "happy" in this situation, but the milk is the one that is really a big problem.

Michelle:       What about crop farmers? What hardships are they facing there in Italy right now?

Andrea:          We are specialized; we don't produce row crops. We have, of course, but we are not a big country, so we don't produce tons and tons and tons of corn or wheat. We are more focused on importing those, and we produce more fruits and vegetables, especially in some regions of the south and even the north, but in the south, the temperature and the weather conditions are much better and they can grow crops all year long.

It seems that, also, this sector is going quite well, because people stay home and they try to eat as healthy as possible, so the consumption of any vegetable or any fruit has increased also. The challenge that all those guys have is that they cannot be in contact with other people. They need to pay attention. They have to use the masks. (Maintaining) a normal life isn't easy for them, but in terms of business, the crop guys, fruits and vegetables, at the moment, are doing quite well.

                        There are some crops that are probably going to have an impact on those. I'm thinking about the summer crops, like cherries or table grapes, but I don't think — because we export a lot of those, also, to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and, at the moment, we cannot export, or the export is not so relevant, so if things don't change, maybe those guys will be affected too, but to this date, in March, the crop guys are quite happy.

Michelle:       It seems all around the world, daily — sometimes hourly — we hear of new rules and restrictions on our lives. We have to do things differently than we did them one month ago or two months ago. What are farmers or businesses doing there in Italy to adapt, really, to this fast-changing world?

Andrea:          As I said, you can leave your house for three reasons: one, for buying food and medicines; two, to go to work; and three, for specific and serious reasons, whatever they are. There's the police industry that can stop you, and you have to have a paper with you. It's a form that you have to fill out and give to the police guy, and this guy can say, “Okay, you can go” or “You go home.” They can also give you a fine and bring you to jail, in some cases, of course. It's just a simple thing, but this form has changed four or five times in the last ten days, so we don't even know which one is the right one because they keep changing.

                        The farmers, consumers, anybody, myself — it's not that easy to operate, because you cannot leave the house, for one. Two, you cannot meet with people, and you have to stay at least a meter from them, and you have to put on your gloves, plastic gloves, the mask, and even more if you work in some areas. You'll never know who the person that you're across from is. Is he good? Is he infected? We don't know. So, the social activity, in general, and the operational activity of any business is really struggling with the new rules, and again, they keep changing. We had the red zone, which was a completely closed zone in the north. They enlarged and enlarged and, now, Italy is the red zone. Then it's not red, but it's super red. It's a very chaotic approach, and I hope that you in America or in the other countries are learning from us. It's better to stop everything for a while and wait, as Spain did, to wait and hope that things won't happen, because when things start to happen, it is too late.

                        I don't know if that's the answer to your question, but it's a very complicated environment where we live in, and there's a new set of rules that is announced, as you said, every day. It's easy, in some ways, to — if I need to stay home, I don't care. The only people who care about the new rules and all the other things are the ones that — like my wife, for example: she works (outside of the home), and she has to accomplish all the new rules that are set every day or week.

Michelle:       The world looks to Italy right now. I'm curious if there are lessons that you're learning right now about how agriculture and the food supply works. What does that future look like?

Andrea:          I was in a call before with a friend that produced feed. They also produced some feeds for us, and he told me he's really, really scared about the new future, the close future, because (as he said), “I don't know what and how and when we'll pass this phase and when we'll start again.” If there's a lesson that we need to learn, we waste hours and hours of our time every year doing things that are not so necessary, in general, in life, and also in our business. The efficiency is not that efficient. I think that we'll start, hopefully, to increase the local consumption more than importing too many things from everywhere. Consumers, in my opinion, will go back to — my relatives, my grandmother, they got only what the season allowed them to get in terms of fruits and vegetables and also the meat. You eat the meat, but you don't need to eat the meat from Argentina. We are in Italy and we eat Italian meat. You're in America and you — I know that export is a very important thing for any country, but I think that the consumers are realizing that probably it's better to — there's a lack of consumption of what you produce instead of importing exotic things.

                        The other thing is I think that people will travel less, at least for the next years, because, probably, we've traveled too much, and in some occasions, the travel wasn't so necessary. This is what I think. I'm not a scientist. I'm not a genius. That's just my opinion. Speaking with people here, we are enjoying the time differently, and we recognize that a lot of our time is spent on other things that are not so important. I think that for the food, it'll be the same. The agribusiness will be the same.

Michelle:       There are so many stories right now of struggles, sacrifices, and we hear things going on — the hardships, really — but in the middle of all that, there are also stories of great human compassion. What heartwarming stories are you hearing out of Italy even during these really, really difficult times?

Andrea:          The first thing is there are many people that are sacrificing their lives for other people. I'm speaking about the doctors and all the people who work in the hospitals — also, the industries in general, factories and the farmers, as in our case. They try to find ways, of course, to sell their product, because we need to sell something to survive, but also to sell it in a way that can have an impact on other people.

                        Consider, for example, the mozzarella di bufala farmers at the moment. They don't know what to do with the milk. Why should they dump the milk, especially when they have their own cheese factory? This sector is quite common, so you have the buffalo farm and then you have your own mozzarella di bufala cheese factory, and you sell it directly to consumers or to restaurants and so on. In our case, we have a group of farmers (who are) our friends. They have been in Kentucky several times, so they are farmers, but they are quite progressive farmers. They said, "We have to destroy the milk anyway. I'm not going to dump it. I'm going to produce some cheeses and I'm going to give those cheeses to the local hospitals so that at least they can have some food to eat" — the doctors, of course, not the people that are sick.

                        Also, when they sell the mozzarella, let's say the mozzarella price is €10 per kilo. They give €3 of the €10 to the local hospital to buy the medical equipments and all the other things that are necessary, whatever they are. So, you can just accept the disaster, or you can try to adopt the disaster to be positive. There are many, many stories like this, especially in the dairy sector, but we also have customers that are donating money, or they are trying to supply crops, zucchini or whatever, to the hospitals or to the places where they need it, because if you cannot sell it and you have to destroy it, it's better, in a moment like this, that you share what you have with other people. In some ways, we see a lot of kind approaches to the other person, and I hope that this is another lesson that we learn that won't disappear after the coronavirus.

Michelle:       That would lead right into my next question. You hear these stories of neighbors helping neighbors, strangers helping strangers. It's one of the positives, if there is such a thing, in a pandemic. What's one takeaway that you have after seeing COVID-19 firsthand change the very world around you? How will it change you? How will it change the way you behave on a daily basis?

Andrea:          I want to keep in mind that we only have 24 hours a day and those are the only hours that we have and to use those as best as possible, avoiding useless waste of time or focusing on things that are not so important. I'm spending a lot of time with my daughters, and I'm not used to it because I'm always traveling. I'm appreciating the time spent with them and, also, staying at home, which is another thing that is not normal for me. I think that my personal takeaway is I will use my time better.

Michelle:       Andrea Capitani, business manager for Alltech Italy, thank you for joining us today. It's really good to hear your voice.

Andrea:          Thank you so much.

Michelle:       For additional resources on COVID-19, visit Alltech.com.

Click here for additional COVID-19 resources.

There is nothing more important to us than the safety and well-being of our colleagues, customers and communities. As a family company, we understand that the interconnectedness of our lives means that the actions we take within our business have an impact on countless others.

We share your concerns about the spread of COVID-19 globally. We are committed to doing our part to reduce COVID-19’s impact as quickly as possible, while maintaining our supply and service to our world’s livestock and crop producers.

Our business spans more than 120 countries, so we first began monitoring COVID when it emerged in China. In spite of the many challenges, our team in China has continued serving our customers, and we have been able to maintain production and continuity of supply due to the strict biosecurity controls that we had already established prior to COVID-19.

As COVID-19 expanded its reach, we responded by establishing a dedicated COVID-19 task force representing all regions of the world. Together, with a team of senior management, we review the latest information, including the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on a daily basis to adapt our approach to this dynamic and evolving situation.

A few of the specific actions we have taken to prioritize the safety of our team and the continuity of our service to our customers include:

1. COVID-19 company policy – Our policy addresses limitations on the travel of our team, including contractors and consultants, as well as other required practices to safeguard all of our sites. This is something we are reviewing daily and continually updating to ensure best practice.
2. Visitor screening form – A visitor screening form must be completed by any guest, including internal guests and truck drivers, before they are able to enter any of our facilities. This measure is a first line of defense to safeguard against any known risks.
3. Limitation of outside visitors – While we are maintaining some business-critical meetings, we are utilizing virtual meeting platforms as an alternative or are postponing visits to a future date. We are not allowing tours or visits to our facilities that are not deemed to be business-critical at this time. Truck drivers making deliveries or pickups are asked to stay within their cabs or as close to their trucks as possible, and any entry to our facilities must be approved following completion of the visitor screening form.
4. Enhanced cleaning protocols – In addition to our regular cleaning services, we have enhanced our procedures to occur at more frequent intervals and with greater attention to the disinfection of all surfaces.
5. Team member health – We are joining governments around the world in a shared effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 by asking our team members to work from home, if their function allows. Additionally, we have required that any team member who is feeling ill is not to return to the office until they have been free of a fever for more than 24 hours, without fever-reducing medications. Any high-risk exposure or confirmed case of COVID-19 necessitates a 14-day quarantine.
6. Operational continuity – Alltech operates nearly 100 manufacturing facilities around the world. Our global infrastructure enables us to shift production if necessary. We are working closely with all of our manufacturing teams to ensure operational continuity and service to our customers. We have implemented plans for all critical business units to work remotely, if required. As part of this, we continue to stress-test our systems and implement safeguards on the security of all data and technology.
7. Supply chain – We have been in contact with our key suppliers to review the status of all raw materials and have been reassured of continuity. While the majority of our materials and services are sourced in the Americas, we have built in contingencies globally, should the need to source from other geographies become necessary. Our global manufacturing and logistics capabilities position us favorably to continue to consistently serve our customers.

We have seen in other countries that food industries have been given essential industry status. As governments continue to shape their response to COVID-19, I hope you will support efforts to ensure a stable food supply.

To achieve this goal, the care and welfare of animals and crops must be of utmost importance. Feedstuffs, equipment for animal and crop production, and logistics are essential to ensure the certainty of our food supply. We ask that you implement any and all measures at your disposal to protect these vital functions until COVID-19 subsides.

We trust you value the importance of a safe, stable food supply. Thank you for your support as we seek, together, to provide security in this time of unprecedented uncertainty.

Sincerely,

Dr. Mark Lyons
President and CEO, Alltech

What is coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a respiratory condition that can spread from person to person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that was first identified in the city of Wuhan, China.

How is COVID-19 spread?

It is likely that the virus that causes COVID-19 emerged from an animal source but is now spreading from person to person. It is believed that the virus spreads mainly among people who are in close contact with each other (within 6 feet) through respiratory droplets that are disseminated when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

It may also be possible for a person to contract COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that is hosting the virus and then touching their mouth, nose or possibly their eyes, although this is not believed to be the main way the virus spreads. Learn what is known about the spread of coronavirus here.

 What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Patients with COVID-19 experience mild to severe respiratory issues with the following symptoms:

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath

What are the serious complications caused by this virus?

Some patients contract pneumonia in both lungs and experience multiple organ failure, and some patients have died.

What can I do to help protect myself and my coworkers at my dairy?

People can protect themselves from respiratory diseases by taking the following preventive measures every day:

• Avoid close contact with sick people, both on and outside of your dairy.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth if your hands have not been washed.
• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Wash your hands before you eat after working in the milking parlor or other areas of the dairy.
• Ask the dairy manager or owner to keep the restrooms stocked with disinfectants and soap.
• Always wear milking gloves.
• Constantly change milking gloves.
• When you get home after working in the dairy, always take a shower and wash your work clothes.
• Keep the bathrooms and kitchen area in your workplace clean and disinfected.
• Keep tractors clean and disinfected.
• Keep social distance.

If you are sick, to prevent transmitting your respiratory illness to others, do the following:

• Stay home if you’re sick.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a disposable handkerchief when coughing or sneezing, then throw it away.
• Frequently clean and disinfect the objects and surfaces you touch.
• Form emergency plans for your dairy in the event of an illness.

Ask the dairy manager or owner to call the doctor’s office if you have severe symptoms.

Is there a vaccine for COVID-19?

There is currently no vaccine to protect against COVID-19. The best way to prevent infections is to take daily preventive measures, such as avoiding close contact with sick people and washing your hands frequently.

Is there a treatment?

There is no specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. People with COVID-19 can seek medical attention to help relieve symptoms.

For more information on COVID-19, visit www.cdc.gov/COVID19.

What is the best strategy for sustainable dairy farming that not only benefits the environment but is also profitable? Charlie Crave, a founding partner in Crave Brothers Farm and Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, explains how his family-owned dairy operation has grown with the addition of a methane digester and cheese plant, all while keeping sustainability practices at the forefront.

The following is an edited transcript of David Butler’s interview with Charlie Crave. Click below to hear the full audio.

David:            We're here today with Charlie Crave of Crave Brothers Farm. How are you doing, Charlie?

Charlie:          I'm doing well today, yes.

David:            Well, thanks for joining us.

Charlie:          You're welcome. I had a great week there in Louisville and, of course, like anything, it's always nice to be back home, too. What an energetic, wonderful time that was at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference.

David:            Yeah. Thank you. It's always a lot of fun, really.

Charlie:          Absolutely, yup — a great place to meet and connect and, certainly, reconnect with so many wonderful folks throughout the world, yes.

David:            Great! Well, I've been on your farm several years ago, on a tour, and I thought it was a pretty fascinating place. I wonder if you could give us a little bit of the history and describe your operation there.

Charlie:          All right. Well, we have a family farm that was founded by my brothers and I, and we've expanded now to the point where — we have a total of four brothers. I have two sons and a nephew, so we now have seven principals in the business. We have the agronomy portion of our business, where we crop 3,000 acres and we raise our young stock replacements. We milk 1,900 cows and have a biogas plant for capturing methane gas. Then we also have a farmstead cheese factory, which is a separate business located directly across the road from the farm. So, in a nutshell, we have a farm, a digester and a cheese factory.

David:            That sounds great.

Charlie:          Yeah, a lot of family, and a lot of employees involved, too.

David:            Yeah, that's nice.

Charlie:          It is. The family — not only the partners I've mentioned, but then we have some other family members that are employees. Our dad — although he's never been an owner of the business, he's here every day. Even though he's in his 90s, he helps with chores and mowing the grass and all those things that 90-year-olds do, so what a great journey it's been for him right here in Waterloo as well.

David:            And your dad had a farm when you guys were kids growing up, right?

Charlie:          That's right. My dad ran a farm that was owned by my grandmother, and he decided to quit farming when I was 19. And somewhat because of the times and somewhat because of his wisdom, he felt that it'd be better to get out of the way and let us farm our own business, not necessarily on his coattails, and that's what we did. So, now, 41 years later, we started with 43 cows, and we've grown up into the bigger numbers I just shared with you and brought in many more family members and resources along the way.

David:            Well, that's probably been a lot of fun and a lot of work and some serious challenges over 41 years, I would bet.

Charlie:          Yes, it has been. We've had, of course, the weather challenges that everyone has, and we have family challenges and relationship challenges like every relationship or family has, and we feel it's important to lean in and really embrace (each other) the very best that we can so that we can have those wonderful, lifelong relationships. And while not every day is warm and fuzzy, we do want to make sure we're in a point where we can share Thanksgiving dinner together without being encumbered in conversations and the like, so it's important to have a business that works not only for the family and the community and the environment, but it must, of course, work financially, too. If it doesn’t work on all of those factors, it becomes stressful for all involved, so we really work at that.

David:            All of those things that you just mentioned — you mentioned people and the environment and the economic factors — and those are, really, all the things that go into sustainability. I know that's a big focus for you guys, for you and your brothers. A lot of times, when people think about sustainability, they just think about the environmental aspect and trying to minimize our impact on the environment, so why don’t we start out and talk about that first, and tell me a little bit about your anaerobic digester and how it works and how you got that.

Charlie:          Well, we partnered with — another firm built it initially, and it didn’t quite pan out for them financially and with their corporate structure the way they had hoped.

                        In the meantime, though, it has produced a lot of power. The methane gas is captured every day in these tanks. Just to back up, if folks aren't familiar with a methane digester, we capture the manure from the farm, from the cows and the heifers, in our situation. We do add some substrate, which is a byproduct of industry, and together, they're warmed up to 100 degrees using excess heat off of an engine generator. So, the excess heat — just like we would capture the heat in our automobile to defrost our windows, for instance — is captured, and that's used to warm off the manure. So, we have two tanks of three quarters of a million gallons each, so that means we have a million and a half gallons of warm manure at 100 degrees, and that's at temperature. That's body temperature.

                        At that temperature, the bacteria will grow. It's got the food, it's got the moisture, and it's got the temperature. The bacteria is working in there, and it gives off methane gas and other gasses. The methane is captured and used to power a large engine. That large engine turns on an electric generator, which produces electricity, which is sold to the power company. So, there are three products off the digester every day: it's the sale of electricity to the power company; it's the excess heat off the engine, which helps keep the digesters the proper temperature; and it also helps us out on the farm for heating our buildings, such as the office, the shop, the hot water for the nursery, and even the farmhouse.

                        Then, the third product, or the revenue source, would be the manure fiber. After the manure goes through this digester and it comes out, it goes through a squeezer, a press that removes the fiber, and that manure fiber is then dried again using methane gas off the digester, and then we use that fiber for bedding the cattle on the farm. It's a very closed-loop system, but methane production is equivalent to a thousand gallons a day of diesel fuel in terms of BTUs, so it's a substantial amount of power, substantial amount of heat that's captured, and electricity and fiber.

                        The electricity, in theory, is enough power for the farm, the cheese factory and 300 homes. My little jingle that goes with this is, “The sun is shining, the river is flowing, and this produces totally renewable energy every single day,” and that it does. Unlike some systems, such as many of those in Europe, we use 100% byproduct, the manure or byproducts from other industries, to provide the tool for the digester. We do not raise any corn silage that would be fed directly to the digester or other energy sources fed directly to the digester. Everything is a byproduct. So, in a nutshell, we still have all the nutrients. We still have all the nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, and those elements are tied to an elemental form, and they are located in the liquid manure, which we apply to the field.

                        For field application, we have a consistent manure product that's got some of that manure fiber removed, so it's much easier to agitate from the manure basin, and we can apply a good, even amount of liquid manure to our fields to meet our nutrient needs for our crops. So, we get a little better return on our manure application, as well as the other three products off the digester, and that's where I'm going to stop for now.

                        Not only is the digester important for our business, but really, it's what we do before we even get to the digester. Are we really conscious of our groundwater? How are we setting our wells, our water table? Are we conscious of our soil aggregates and what we're doing to build soil health? Are we conscious of our grazing procedures or our harvesting and our various types of erosion and cover crops and interseeding and all those factors that go into a successful agricultural and agronomic business?

                        Those are discussions we have had for many, many years, and we've realized it's important to really lean in on them, not just to rely on the laurels of saying, “Well, we have a lower carbon footprint.” Well, it's just part of it. What are we really doing to be leaders? Those are topics that our family takes very seriously. What can we really do to lead, in terms of sustainability, with our agronomy, our manure digester, recycling? How do we improve? I've even sat in on some meetings with sustainability leaders from the likes of Harley Davidson and Miller Brewing Company, and they like the farm story, but believe me, I like their stories, too, and I think we all can learn from each other, and that's where we want to be for our business, is really engaging with some of the very best. All right. I'll leave it there.

David:            Okay. Well, I think it's great that you mention (that) it's not just the carbon footprint. If we don’t keep our soil healthy or rebuild our soils that need help, and if we don’t keep our groundwater at a good level, then it's not going to matter if we solve our carbon footprint. We're still going to have some serious issues, and we won't be sustainable.

Charlie:          Absolutely. We participate in a community-based farmers’ and lake owners’ alliance, so rather than the lake owners saying, "Oh, our lakes are turning green" and the farmers saying, "We have a lower carbon footprint," there's a lot of unknown in that conversation. So, my son, myself and some of our other family members, we've engaged with some of the lake owners and the conservation groups in the area. We engage with some of the folks that might be considered, well, not quite tree-huggers, but pretty close to it, and share our story, and we learn from them what are other concerns. Are they viable concerns? Then, we, as farmers, in our case — our family, our business — what can we do to address those viable concerns? Those are topics we engage in and take action on.

                        Some of the action involves cover crops. It involves different forages for our livestock herd. It may involve using different hybrids so we can harvest earlier, maybe taking a bit of a reduction in yield, but then allowing us more time to get our nutrients prepped for the little crops, seeded — how do we do cover crops and handle manure? Last year, we did close to 30 million gallons of liquid manure. Well, that covers quite a few acres, so, indeed, if you're going to incorporate manure, cover crops, forages, grains, small grains, not only is it an investment financially and in time, but management — and you're dealing with Mother Nature, of course, too, so you really have to put on the thinking cap, leaning in on that. That's what we're up to, and I think that's where a lot of our industry is heading, thankfully.

                        It's not easy to say, “Yeah, we have lost perhaps more of our topsoil than we want to recognize.” Even though I'm a dairy farmer, yes, I totally have a fair amount of erosion compared to being just a crop farmer. I may not understand my soil bacteria to the level that I should. I may not understand the history of my soils the way I should. These are all topics that go on for years and years, but they do require rigor to make some headway in management and understanding — but it's a great place to be, though. It really is. It's a conversation we relish, so that covers part of the environment and the family that can pull that off. It involves being active in the community, whether it's in your local town or with the lake owners, so we've covered the sustainability portion there.

                        You've got to make a little money on it or you're going to disappear in a very painful manner, but we've been doing that for 41 years. We've been working at it, and we have a plan to continue on for more, so that’s good news. That's what makes me excited about even speaking at the conference or sharing that news with this podcast. As an old guy, I'm still excited.

David:            It is exciting. I think it's good that you're excited about talking to all the environmental groups and trying to understand their concerns because, in the process, when you're having a conversation with them, they're understanding what you guys do, and a lot of times, people don’t understand what farmers are doing, and that’s a dangerous thing.

Charlie:          It is. It really is. We've seen a lot of misperception in terms of where our food comes from and what's healthy for my family or my children or my community, and really, most of the fear is based upon ignorance, which has been very well-proven. Some of the concerns are definitely based upon lack of knowledge on the consumer side, but some of it is based upon lack of knowledge on our producer side as well. So, I think we, as producers, really need to learn to lean in, perhaps, more than we have. It would be one of my take-home messages as a producer: really step up to lean in with all the environmental actions that can be taken, not just one or two, but really lean in.

David:            Yeah, and in the long run, it's going to keep your farm profitable as well, so it's not just a matter of jumping through a hoop. I know that, probably, there are plenty of environmental regulations that might feel like just jumping through a hoop, but the things you're talking about — really looking at your soil health closely — that's so important for your long-term survival and all of our long-term survival. Talk a little bit about some of the conservation techniques that you use. You guys grow all your own forages, right? So, you really are crop farmers as well. What are some of the things you do to protect the soil and build up the microbial health of it?

Charlie:          Well, we really try to keep something green out there, growing, year-round. I long remember someone's quote that “if your soil is exposed, it's like having a hole in your fertilizer tank, and it's just leaking out, never to be recovered.” So, we think it's really important to keep some green growth out there. Learn to do a little better every year, whether it's with the cover crop blends, the seeding procedures, the manure applications onto the cover crops, the manure applications onto the fields, taking proper credits for all manure harvesting, yields, nitrogen efficiency ratios — all of those things all enter into our conversations.

                        At the harvest's end, it's important that you don’t feel losses. Preserve that feed well in the bunker silos. We've got a whole system of wrapping our silo walls in drain tile to remove any rainwater and keep our feed just at the very best quality that we can, keep down that feed shrink, and keep feeding to the cattle preservation there in the bunks — even the use of propionic acid so you have better feed conversion. For instance, in the summer, when the weather is hot and muggy, we apply propionic acid to our total mixed ration, and even though it would keep for a day in the mangers, by using propionic acid, 3% of the feed that the cows don’t eat is still good for the next day, and we're able to feed that back to the heifers and capture more of that feed value in our livestock. It's been working very well. Now, all of this is not revolutionary, but it does take commitment. It takes a feeding system. It takes training of employees. It takes monitoring of your feed and going into the storage, coming out where it's being fed. The amounts of feeds shrink every day, but you're in and you're out.

                        We've been proving that it works. Well, we might think of conservation as being all water waste, or grass and some fields. It's a whole variety of interaction, all the way from the soil microbes through the fields, through the harvest, through the preservation, the feeding, the financial management of all that. That's all part of the system we embrace here at the Crave Brothers; granted, we're not alone in the industry (in) doing that, but we need to be a leader at it, not just another producer doing the same old thing. That's where we're at, and it's a great place to be, too.

David:            That's awesome. Tell me a little bit about the — let's talk a little bit about the people aspect of sustainability, or the social part. What do you guys do to make sure that everybody has a good quality of life and they're not just working 90 hours a week, and they have time for their families?

Charlie:          Yeah, that's a great point. Well, we really try to give each of the partners an area where they can take a certain amount of responsibility and to provide them, too, with a budget, so they can have the help they need so they can get done at a decent time. For instance, we all know that a dairy farm such as ours, we milk three times a day, around the clock. Well, that means you need a good parlor manager. You need good training for the people that might be bedding the cows. They need good machinery. They need a place to store that machinery so it works every day. They need an opportunity to talk with the mechanic — and a mechanic that can respond. For instance, if their bedding wagon is not working, they (should be able to) get it fixed in short order so the cows can be bedded, and then the fellow doing that work can put in a decent day and go home at a respectable hour.

                        One of the things that separates our farm from many others is (that) we try and have most of the folks that work here — other than milkers or the nighttime crew — they would start between 5:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. and go home in the afternoon, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 p.m. Well, for a farm, for a dairy farm, those aren't paid hours. If we can go home at 5:00 p.m. and maybe have supper or get our lawn mowed and then have time in the evening to go to a ball game for our kids or a meeting at church or school board, that's not bad, especially when we think of when we were younger; you'd do well to be in the house by 7:30 or 8:00 at night and you still hadn't eaten supper.

                        So, it's been very much a focus on how to have the right people in the right places so we can all be successful. Try and take a day or a day and a half off or two days off every week, depending on the time of the year and the weather. That works. We take time and a half for about seven holidays a year. It helps to write a little incentive for folks to do a little extra work or sign up to do chores on those days. And, of course, it's only fair to them; their families have to make some sacrifices, too, so we want to be fair.

                        Has it been easy in the last few years, with lower milk prices? Absolutely not. We have some of the same conversations others do, but in the meantime, we're still getting our cows bred and producing good-quality milk and a lot other — having manure applied, all those things that go into every day without having the wheel fall off — and still get home at a decent hour at night, and that’s been a real focus. So, a sustainable workforce that can stick around, maybe work here for a generation — or two, even — that's important, and that's who we really want to be. We want to be a preferred employer, not just a default employer, and that can be said for many industries, but do you have a plan to be that preferred employer? Well, we do, using a lot of those things that I just described, and it's been working, thankfully.

David:            Yeah. That's great. That brings us, maybe, to the third part of sustainability, which is the economic aspect.

                        You can't do any of this if you're not profitable, and you mentioned some of the challenges, certainly, in the dairy industry. It can be really rough, and prices go up and down. You guys have insulated yourselves from that, to an extent, by having your own cheese factory, right?

Charlie:          Yes, we have. About 21 years ago, we undertook starting to spend time and money on investigating how to add more value to our farm, and we looked into doing more with what we had, such as: do we do more machinery work? Do we do more forage harvesting? Do we buy more land and raise corn and soybeans in addition to dairy cows? All those things, I think, enter into many, many conversations throughout the world and, of course, at the career.

                        Finally, we took a deep breath and decided to build a cheese factory here on our farm, not knowing much about it. We consulted with some folks throughout the industry and decided to build a cheese factory a hundred yards away from our milking parlor. So, we pump the fresh milk underground from the farm to the cheese factory and, from there, it's stored and pasteurized and used to manufacture award-winning cheeses. So, we really have a whole system of procedures and investments, financially and human-wise, in place that has allowed us to become a real leader in quality cheese production. We have primary products of fresh mozzarella and mascarpone. We do some other cheese curds and Oaxaca products, and we'd market those nationwide. We work with brokers and distributors in the food industry to get our product out and try to capture enough value to make it worthwhile of all our investment. So far, after 20 years, I'd like to say yes, it's been working.

                        One of the things I often point out is (that) I would hope that, for many of us, if we bought a farm 20 years ago, we would've had it paid off by now or made some pretty good headway on land improvements and such, and it's the same thing with the cheese factory. A lot of folks say, "Wow, I really like your cheese factory," but I just ask them to pause and reflect that, indeed, we have been at it for 20 years, and I would hope that, for 20 years, they would have some success with it, too, but now, it's been a great part of our family story: the farm, the digester and the cheese factory.

David:            Yeah. Do you think that's also helped keep the next generation involved in your operation?

Charlie:          I would think it has, yes, especially — I have a niece that probably would not be too interested in milking cows. While many families kind of enjoy some of the show cows or the registered portion of your business, it takes some real income to support the land purchases or building a cheese factory or a biogas plant, and the cheese factory has helped provide some solid financial returns, especially as the milk price has been soft. Yeah, it's been better than taking some of those wholesale prices that we've been receiving otherwise, so yeah, it has provided a lot of energy for the next generation, no doubt.

David:            All right. Well, thank you so much, Charlie. That was a great conversation. We've covered a lot of ground here. I really appreciate your time.

Charlie:          Well, you're welcome, David. If you're out this way again, get a hold of the Alltech folks, and I'd love to spend some more time with you.

David:            All right. I definitely will.

Want to learn about solutions for your dairy operation?

[LEXINGTON, Ky.] – The agriculture industry has been presented with a great responsibility — to produce enough safe, nutritious food for all, while caring for our animals and sustaining our air, water and land for future generations. To explore innovative solutions to the challenges facing the global food supply chain today, ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE) returns May 17–19, 2020, in Lexington, Kentucky. Now in its 36^th year, ONE draws on Alltech’s global reach and business scope to assemble thought-leaders from the agriculture, business, health and wellness, and brewing and distilling sectors.

“Science, technology and human ingenuity converge at ONE,” said Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech. “The topics up for discussion reflect the extraordinary opportunity our industry has to adopt new ideas for producing enough safe, nutritious food for all while preserving our planet.”

With universal themes of innovation, inclusion and inspiration, ONE invites everyday heroes from various industries to unleash the power of infinite ideas. More than 40 topics* will be discussed at ONE, including:    

Aquaculture

• Should Shrimp Culture Step Out of Its Comfort Zone?
• Optimizing Performance and Profit With Dynamic Nutritional Marketing
• Navigating Sustainability From the Feed Producer’s Perspective

Beef

• Analyzing the Impact: Examining the Environmental Hoofprint of Beef
• The Vital Role of Livestock in Reversing Climate Change and Desertification
• Sunny With a High Chance of Cattle: The Ag Market Outlook

Crop Science

• The World Beneath Our Feet: The Intricate Dance That Takes Place in Our Soils
• How Farmers Are Advancing Human Health Through Functional Foods
• On the Defense: Using Beneficial Compounds to Induce Resistance in Plants

Dairy

• Dairy Cattle Welfare: Essential for Animals, Producers and Consumers
• No Antibiotics, No Problem: Inside Rosy-Lane Holsteins’ Transformation
• How Herd Management Practices Can Minimize Lameness

Pig

• The Great Disruption: ASF and the Global Protein Market
• The Impact of Organic Minerals and Heat Stress on Health
• Which Tech Trends Are Transforming Swine Production?

Poultry

• Prioritizing Food Safety in Poultry Production
• Cracking the Competition: How to Grow Your Business
• Putting Poultry Welfare First in a World of Conscious Consumers

Business

• Mind Over Matter: The Power of Mental Toughness
• Four Habits of Digital Transformers
• Next-Level Leadership: Elevating the Multigenerational Workforce

Agri-Business

• Disrupted by Disease: How Outbreaks Have Reshaped Agri-Food
• A Seat at the Table: How Consumer Opinion Impacts the Value Chain
• Funding the Future: Why Are Outside Investors Banking on Ag-Tech

Brewing and Distilling

• Sustainable Brewing: Can Craft Beer Go Green?
• Market Saturation: Will Craft Beer Tap Out?
• The Canned Cocktail Craze

Future of Food

• Project Drawdown: Farming to Reverse Climate Change
• Meatless Protein: Sustainable Alternative or Over-Processed Panacea?
• What If Farmers Could Get Paid to Fight Climate Change?

Health and Wellness

• Food for Thought: Will Neurogastronomy Change the World?
• Gut Reaction: Probiotics vs. Prebiotics
• The Truth About How Agricultural Practices Affect Human Health

Pet

• A Balanced Microbiome: The Key to Your Pet’s Health and Longevity
• Top Dogs: Which Trends Are Dominating the Premium Pet Food Market?
• Enzymes: Innovative or Enigmatic?

Equine

• A Breeder’s Perspective on Horse Racing’s Future
• Happy Hindguts, Healthy Horses: Unlocking the Equine Microbiome With Nutrition
• Fast Track to Success: Training Horses to Win

*Topics are subject to change.

Alltech’s flagship conference is attended annually by more than 3,000 people representing 70 countries. Keynote speaker announcements are coming soon, and this year’s mainstage line-up promises to be as dynamic as ever. Previous ONE keynote speakers include Bear Grylls, General Colin Powell, Steve Wozniak and Beth Comstock.  

The ONE experience extends beyond superior presentation content, as attendees are invited to embark on area tours and network with peers from across the globe. International Night will offer a multicultural exploration of cuisine and entertainment from around the world, while Kentucky Night showcases the sights and sounds of the Bluegrass State from within the famed Kentucky Horse Park.   

Learn more and register at one.alltech.com by Feb. 29 to save $200. Follow ONE on Facebook for updates and join the conversation on Twitter with #ONEbigidea.

Development of more rumen-friendly rations to mitigate both environmental and physical feed waste can be achieved with Alltech IFM, a unique tool to support diet formulation

[DUNBOYNE, Ireland, and SHROPSHIRE, U.K.] – Global animal nutrition company Alltech has launched its first European-based in vitro fermentation laboratory, Alltech IFM™, in collaboration with Harper Adams University in the U.K. Alltech IFM is a nutritional tool that simulates rumen fermentation and evaluates the digestibility of feed and forages within the animal.

For farmers and feed manufacturers, the use of Alltech IFM can identify barriers to achieving optimal rumen function. It enables rations to be formulated based on nutrient availability, helping to reduce energy losses and feed wastage.

Feed samples, which can include concentrates, fresh forages, silages or total mixed rations (TMRs), are incubated using rumen fluid for 48 hours and are then analysed for volatile fatty acids (VFA) and microbial biomass. Alltech IFM measures gas production throughout the process, meaning the amount of energy lost as methane and methane emissions per animal can be calculated. Validated by the Carbon Trust, Alltech IFM is an effective tool for predicting farm- and feed-specific enteric methane emissions.

Based at Harper Adams University in the U.K., this laboratory represents Alltech’s seventh IFM facility globally.

“The introduction of our Alltech IFM lab in Europe marks a significant step forward for us as we now have the ability to analyse European-based diets and ensure our customers benefit from further technical support,” said Matthew Smith, vice president of Alltech. 

The collaboration further strengthens Alltech’s research alliance with Harper Adams University, which was formed in 2013.

“Having the Alltech IFM lab at Harper Adams allows us to undertake more fundamental studies in terms of ruminant nutrition and ruminant metabolism so that we can optimise rumen fermentation and, therefore, improve animal health, performance and longevity,” said Professor Liam Sinclair of Harper Adams University.

“The goal of looking at rumen fermentation with Alltech IFM is to minimise the waste product or minimise the gas production and to maximise VFAs and microbial biomass, which are critical nutrients to the cow,” added Dr. Jim Huntington of Harper Adams University.

“Together with the team at Harper Adams, we look forward to generating new insights and highlighting how certain diets correlate with high-producing dairy and beef systems across Europe. Now more than ever before, we believe Alltech IFM can play a significant role in helping to address those major environmental concerns, reduce waste on-farm and, ultimately, contribute to a Planet of Plenty™,” said Smith.

The 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey estimates that international feed tonnage decreased by 1.07% to 1.126 billion metric tons of feed produced last year, due largely to African swine fever (ASF) and the decline of pig feed in the Asia-Pacific region. The top nine feed-producing countries are the U.S., China, Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, Spain, Japan and Germany. Together, these countries produce 58% of the world’s feed production and contain 57% of the world’s feed mills, and they can be viewed as an indicator of overall trends in agriculture.

Dr. Mark Lyons, president and CEO of Alltech, shared the survey results via public livestream from Alltech’s global headquarters in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

“2019 presented extreme challenges to the feed industry, with one of the most significant being African swine fever. The regional and global implications are reflected by the Alltech Global Feed Survey and the decline in global feed production, said Lyons. “While pig feed production is down in affected countries, we are noting increased production both in other species as producers work to supplement the protein demand, and in non-affected countries as exports ramp up. The damage caused by ASF will have long-term implications, and we expect that the top protein sources will continue to shift as our industry adapts to the shortage.”

The global data, collected from 145 countries and nearly 30,000 feed mills, indicates feed production by species as: broilers 28%; pigs 24%; layers 14%; dairy 12%; beef 10%; other species 6%; aquaculture 4%; and pets 2%. Predominant growth came from the layer, broiler, aqua and pet feed sectors. 

Regional results from the 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey

• North America: The U.S. is the largest feed-producing country globally with an estimated 214 million metric tons (MMT), with beef (61.09 MMT), broilers (48.525 MMT) and pigs (44.86 MMT) as the leading species. North America saw steady growth of 1.6% over last year. Canada produced 21.6 MMT with pigs (8.23 MMT), broilers (3.25 MMT) and dairy (4.2 MMT) leading species feed production.

• Latin America: As a region, Latin America saw 2.2% growth to 167.9 MMT. Brazil remained the leader in feed production for the region and third overall globally, with the primary species for feed production being broilers (32.1 MMT) and pigs (17.0 MMT). Brazil, Mexico and Argentina continue to produce the majority of feed in Latin America with 76% of regional feed production.

• Europe: Europe remained relatively stagnant with a slight increase of 0.2% over last year. The top three feed-producing countries in Europe are Russia (40.5 MMT), Spain (34.8 MMT) and Germany (25.0 MMT), with pig feed production leading the way in all three countries. The ruminant sector was hit the hardest as both dairy and beef numbers are estimated to be down by 4% and 3%, respectively. This was offset primarily by strong growth in the aqua (7%) and layer (3%) industries.

• Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region saw feed production decrease by 5.5% in 2019, primarily due to African swine fever and large declines in pig feed production. China’s feed production declined by almost 20 MMT of feed overall to 167.9 MMT and fell from the top feed-producing country globally to second, behind the U.S. India and Japan remained in the top nine feed-producing countries, with similar production compared to 2018 with 39.0 MMT and 25.3 MMT, respectively, while Vietnam declined by 7%.

• Africa: Africa continued strong growth with a 7.5% increase in overall feed production, with all the primary species seeing positive growth. The top five feed-producing countries in the region account for 75% of Africa’s feed production, and they are South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco and Algeria. The region’s primary species include broiler, layer and dairy, and combined, they account for nearly half of feed production estimates in the region.

Notable species results from the 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey

• Pig feed production was greatly impacted by African swine fever, with an 11% decrease. The primary producing region for pig feed remains Asia-Pacific, but it also experienced the largest decline of 26%, with China (-35%), Cambodia (-22%), Vietnam (-21%) and Thailand (-16%) experiencing large decreases. Europe, North America and Latin America remained relatively stable compared to last year, within a percentage point’s worth of gain or loss. While Africa is a small region from a tonnage standpoint for pig feed, it showed a large increase of 29%.  

• In the poultry sector, Asia-Pacific is the leader in both broiler (115.2 MMT) and layer (73.1 MMT) feed. In Latin America, total broiler production amounted to 60.8 MMT, with Brazil leading the region with 32.1 MMT followed by Mexico with 10.5 MMT, while Mexico’s layer feed production increased by 11% to 7.05 MMT and surpassed Brazil. Russia leads Europe with 10.86 MMT of the total region’s 56.3 MMT of broiler feed and 5.3 MMT of the region’s total of 33.5 MMT of layer feed. In North America, the U.S. accounts for 94% of the broiler feed with 48.5 MMT, while layer feed in Canada increased by 460,000 metric tons. 

• Europe leads global dairy feed production with 34% followed by North America (21.8%), Asia-Pacific (17.6%) and Latin America (15.3%). The top dairy feed- producing countries are Turkey (6.5 MMT), Germany (5.2 MMT), Russia (4.2 MMT), the U.K. (3.8 MMT), France (3.4 MMT), the Netherlands (3.3. MMT) and Spain (3.2 MMT).

• North America continues to lead global beef feed production with 62.3 MMT, followed by Europe (21.9 MMT) and Latin America (13.9 MMT). For the 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey, the beef feed production estimation was recalculated to improve its accuracy. The new estimate takes into account the average days on feed and intake as a percentage of body weight in the feedlot. Last year’s estimation was also recalculated to reflect this formula change for a proper year-on-year comparison.

• Overall, aquaculture feeds showed growth of 4% over last year. Per ton, Asia-Pacific grew the most with an additional 1.5 MMT. The primary contributors were China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. Europe’s decrease is in large part due to decreased feed production in Russia, which is primarily due to an increase in imports.

• The pet food sector saw growth of 4% with the largest tonnage increases in Asia-Pacific (10%), Europe (3%) and Latin America (6%). By country, increases were seen in China, Indonesia, Portugal, Hungary, Ecuador and Argentina. 

During the live presentation, Dr. Lyons was joined by a panel of industry experts, including Jack Bobo, CEO, Futurity, USA; Matthew Smith, vice president, Alltech, U.K.; Bianca Martins, general manager, Alltech, Mexico; and Brian Lawless, North America species manager, Alltech, USA. The group discussed the trends behind the data and the implications for the global market. Topics ranged from consumer demands to the adoption of new technology.

To access insights from the 2020 Alltech Global Feed Survey, including a recording of the panel discussion, an interactive map and presentation slides, visit alltechfeedsurvey.com.

The Alltech Global Feed Survey assesses compound feed production and prices through information collected by Alltech’s global sales team and in partnership with local feed associations in the last quarter of 2019. It is an estimate serving as a resource for policymakers, decision-makers and industry stakeholders.