Adventures in Pet Food: Page 53

Pet Food Market

What corn and soybean prices at all-time highs mean for petfood

Though parts of the US Midwest have finally received some rain over the last few weeks, it's a case of too little, too late. The 2012 US drought has done irreparable damage to this year's crops of corn, soybeans and other grains (and the farmers who grow them) and will likely have a long-lasting impact on meat supplies and prices, too. This will definitely affect the prices of food, feed and, likely, petfood in the near future; food prices are already soaring in some parts of the world.

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Pet Food Market

Approval process for petfood ingredients not perfect, but it works

The process by which new petfood ingredients are approved and defined in the US is, well, complicated. But for the most part, the process has worked, based on cooperation between the Association of American Feed Control Officials and US Food and Drug Administration. Last week, the memorandum of understanding that underpins that collaborative process was extended.

Pet Food Market

Where does FDA stand on FSMA implementation?

The US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is seemingly becoming a classic case of "hurry up and wait." When the act was signed into law by President Obama in January 2011, many players in the human food, petfood and animal feed industries began making an urgent case that food producers in all three industries needed to prepare, and fast, for new rules and regulations emanating from the law. Some experts even sounded notes of doom and gloom over concern that the new regulations would prove costly and onerous, especially for smaller manufacturers.

Pet Food Market

Grow the market by encouraging pet ownership

Ownership of dogs and cats in the US has continued to rise in the two decades that the American Pet Products Association (APPA) has been conducting its National Pet Owners Survey. That's the good news. The not so rosy news is that since 2006, the increase in ownership has been very small -- for example, dog ownership increased just 1.5% in the 2011-12 survey from the previous one (2010), while cat ownership grew just 1.8%.

Pet Food Market

Get forecasts for feed grain costs and availability

The US Department of Agriculture will issue its latest supply-and-demand report tomorrow (Friday, August 10), and all expectations are that the agency will again reduce its corn production forecast, according to a Dow Jones Newswires poll of analysts. These analysts project USDA will cut production another 15.4% after a devastating drought has decimated much of the US corn crop.

Pet Food Market

The global scramble over corn, meat and other petfood ingredients

If you hear anyone still expressing doubt that today's economy is global, just point them to all the recent news about the price of corn, soybeans and other commodities. As recently as early to mid June, the US Department of Agriculture and others were crowing about the record US corn crop expected this year, potentially 9% larger than the 2011 crop, which itself set a record.