Pages

May 26, 2020

COVID-19: Around the world

by Chris Jackson, UK TAG

I am writing this article as the world grips with the worst disease outbreak ever known. The world that we have grown up in has changed and will never be the same. For farming and, particularly, the livestock sector we all know that this is an industry that runs 365 days of the year and relies on a sustainable climate, regardless of viral diseases that affect the human population. The farming calendar is relentless worldwide, supplying the food that we all need. Everything else, except for water, we can actually live without.
 

For the livestock industry that relies on an efficient milling industry, feed supply is not as bad as might be there being a shortfall in feed take up due to the devastation caused to the global pig industry by African Swine Fever (ASF) killing some 50 percent of pigs in China alone, which equates to 24 percent of the world population

The livestock industry has learned that tracing infected animal movements, isolation and quarantine are all necessary tools to maintain control whilst vaccines are unavailable.

Around the world we are seeing differing scenarios for the livestock industry playing out with feed suppliers doing their best to continue to support the intensive livestock industries with products that fulfil the nutrient requirements in the diets that they supply. For instance, I hear from friends in Thailand that some essential vitamins and amino acids have been subject to very high price rises, which I assume is due to a shortfall in supply from one of their major suppliers in China.

In India, as I suspect in other countries, feed and agricultural inputs have been marked as essential services and remain running outside of country lockdowns. However, there have been some reports of hampering in the smooth movement of essential food related items especially between the states. This has been an issue with animal feeds particularly. Dairy cattle owners are now giving low-quality feed to their cows and buffaloes (fodder is there, in some cases state governments ensuring sufficient fodder reaches dairy farmers, but lack of good quality feed is the issue, which in its turn affects milk output).


Read more HERE.
 

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.


For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

No comments:

Post a Comment