How Midwest floods may affect pet food ingredient supply

From the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, black triangles line the Missouri River and its tributaries on the U.S. Geological Survey flood map.

Tim Wall Headshot Small Headshot
(Andrea Gantz)
(Andrea Gantz)

From the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico, black triangles line the Missouri River and its tributaries on the U.S. Geological Survey flood map. Despite the disruption to production and shipping, one pet food ingredient supplier doesn’t anticipate serious supply problems for the pet food industry.

“There have been some minor delays for a few specific ingredients at times, but overall, we have been able to keep the impact to our pet food customers to a minimum,” Jackie Anderson, ADM global media relations manager.

“Flooding in the Midwest has slowed river transportation and disrupted rail traffic. Some of our processing plants in Nebraska were also impacted by flooding earlier this year. While the situation has made logistics very challenging over the past few months, we have been focused on leveraging our vast origination and transportation network to continuing meeting customer needs.”

Record flooding in Midwestern United States

July 2018 to June 2019 was the wettest 12-month span ever recorded in the United States since data collection began in 1895, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data reported by Weather Underground. During that time span, an average 37.86 inches of rain fell on the 48 contiguous States. To find the previous record one needs only look to June 2018 to May 2019. The third wettest 12-month span ever recorded was the previous one, May 2018 to April 2019.

That record-breaking rainfall combined with heavy snowmelt in some regions and resulted swollen rivers. The flooding has forced the evacuation of entire towns in some states, while many farmers in affected regions have lost much of their land, and potential harvests, to the flood.

About ADM

ADM Animal Nutrition produces dog, cat and other pet food ingredients, including amino acids. ADM also offers feed products, supplements, premixes, custom ingredient blends and specialty feed ingredients.

Page 1 of 547
Next Page