Feedworks USA Ltd, which specializes in the marketing and sales of feed ingredients manufactured by global companies, has make three additions to the company’s ruminant division.
Don Larson joins the company as technical ruminant sales manager for Wisconsin. He previously worked with Vita Plus, Church & Dwight, Phibro Animal Health and most recently served as the dairy specialist manager at Northside Elevator.
Covering northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and eastern Iowa, Suzanne Lois [pictured] will serve as an independent ruminant technical sales agent responsible for both sales and marketing of specific products. She previously worked for ADM, Genex, Fermented Nutrition and most recently served as sales manager with Complete Feed Service.
Danny Wright joins Feedworks as national ruminant organic manager working with key organic producers and organizations throughout the US. He previously worked with HJ Baker and most recently served as the director for special projects at Perdue AgriBusiness.
Tom Elliott, Feedworks USA ruminant manager, said: “It is a testament to the vision, products and people at Feedworks that we are able to attract these three seasoned professionals with impressive backgrounds and proven track records. They will have an immediate impact on our business and support our mission to meet our customers’ evolving needs.”
Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), a trade body that represents the UK feed and agri-supply industries, has elected Chris Guest as its new chair.
Cambridgeshire-based Guest brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to the role, said the trade group.
He is currently MD of LS Plant Breeding Ltd and also an active member of the AIC board.
Guest said that given the current economic and political turmoil, it is paramount that the agriculture industry’s voice is heard by the UK government and other relevant bodies with strength and conviction.
“As the industry continues to experience exceptional change and disruption, I know the AIC is working extremely hard to ensure members’ interests are represented and I am committed to doing all that I can in this regard.
“AIC members form part of the bedrock of UK agriculture, supporting arable and livestock producers with invaluable knowledge and expertise along with inputs and merchanting support. This has never been more vital as we collectively strive to deliver a modern, commercial, and sustainable agriculture.”
Guest takes over from Angela Booth, director of responsibility at AB Agri, who has completed her two-year term as AIC board chair. She will continue to serve as a board member for a further year.
Robert Sheasby, chief executive of the AIC, said that Booth has been a source of great strength and wisdom as the AIC negotiated the unprecedented challenges of coronavirus and the UK’s departure from the EU.
Dr David L Meeker, senior vice president, the North American Renderers Association (NARA), and director of research for NARA’s research arm, the Fats and Proteins Research Foundation (FPRF), is retiring at the end of the year.
Earlier this month he was awarded the 2022 Don Franco Distinguished Service Award for his leadership and longtime commitment to the rendering industry, NARA, and the association’s research and related programs.
Dr Meeker has spent more than 18 years at NARA.
He previously served in scientific and management positions at the National Turkey Federation and National Pork Producers Council, served as director of the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources at the National Academy of Sciences, and was an associate professor at The Ohio State University.
Over the past three decades, he has been an advisor to numerous governmental, professional, and business organizations in the US and internationally. He is past president of the US Animal Health Association, a member of the scientific advisory panel of the World Renderers Organization (WRO). He is also a former member of the USDA Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health.
During his time with NARA, he served as the scientific and technical advisor to the North American rendering industry on science, animal disease, and feed safety issues. In his role as FPRF Research Director he was instrumental to programs and research conducted by the foundation to include designing the plan for NARA to manage FPRF for increased administrative efficiencies and assisting in expanding the foundation’s donor base.
Dr Meeker has launched and managed multiple successful programs and projects during his tenure at NARA, noted the organization. He has successfully navigated the association through numerous negotiations including FDA rulemaking concerning bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), as well as rulemaking for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
He helped to guide NARA and its members through several salmonella, poultry and swine diseases unfairly being blamed on rendered products, and also initiated a collaborative research effort that resulted in the creation of the Pet Food Alliance.
Photo: Michael Smith, NARA Chairman (Left) presenting award to Dr David Meeker (Right)
The current interim department head, Audrey McElroy, is the new head of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Poultry Science.
“We already have a strong legacy and reputation, but I want this to be the best poultry science department in the country,” she said. “I look forward to creating more opportunities in service of our collective research, education and outreach missions.”
The department is well-aligned among other US poultry programs but positioning it as the worldwide leader in poultry science research, education and outreach will take effort and investment, she continued.
Her primary goal is to provide a productive environment for faculty, staff, and students. This will require a commitment to excellence and purposeful stakeholder engagement, including partnerships with the poultry industry, state and federal policy makers and agencies, as well as commodity and professional groups, said McElroy.
As interim head, she led various recruitment efforts and facility improvement projects, helping procure almost $6m in donations from individual and corporate donors in support of department initiatives and infrastructure.
Meanwhile, a new intestinal health facility at the US university's Poultry Science Research, Teaching and Extension Center is nearing completion, it is set to provide opportunities for cutting-edge research in support of poultry science.
Meeting the scientific needs for the spectrum of poultry production necessitates cross-discipline collaborations supported by a strong poultry science foundation, McElroy said. Increased and continued collaboration and engagement with stakeholders will strengthen the department’s dedication to such an important part of the global food supply, she added.
“Technology and production are advancing rapidly in the poultry industry and all of agriculture, including implementation of remote sensing and artificial intelligence. We have to adapt how we train the next generation of professionals and produce scientific outcomes that provide a sustainable path forward for our stakeholders.”
Avril, the parent group of leading French feed company, Sanders, has named Emmanuel Manichon as general director of Avril Consumer Goods and Avril Oilseed Processing & Renewable Energies.
In that role, he will supervise the development of the business units in these two divisions within the Group's industrial activities. Reporting directly to Jean-Philippe Puig, CEO, Manichon will also be a member of Avril’s Executive Committee.
His appointment took effect on November 2, 2022.
Manichon previously held marketing, sales, export, industrial, and general management positions in leading industrial groups including Nestlé, Eckes-Granini, and Lactalis.
Drawing on his experience leading large international groups, the company said his mission will be to further develop Avril's activities in two of its strategic priorities, namely consumer goods and renewable energies, while at the same time enhancing the performance of the food processing industry, in close collaboration with upstream agricultural activities.