January 31, 2013
US feed recovery possible with favourable weather conditions
Feed situation in the US can improve significantly and progress towards complete recovery if the country can benefit from one year of favourable weather, according to Dr Terry Barr, senior director of industry research at CoBank.
Barr spoke at the International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) in US where he delivered the Milton L. Dendy keynote address.
He summed up reasons why feed prices have risen over the recent years, which includes factors on the demand side, like more demand for biofuels and ethanol, as well as an 'insatiable appetite' for feedstuffs from China. On the supply side, however, the US as a major feedstuff producer has been suffering from several consecutive years of bad weather. The 2012 persistent drought had a detrimental impact on crop growing in the Mid-West, which means stocks are low.
The situation in the US affected global feedstuffs supplies- and this could change rather quickly, he added. Barr pointed to the fact that global feed production surface has recently been increased by 18.2 million ha (45 million acres), and that it was simply weather that has limited the production. He said, "The continued low of global grain stocks could be solved- but it is going to take a lot of good harvests."
He added however that forecasts for the coming months in 2013 do not look overly optimistic with continued drought projected in central US.