It’s hard to overstate the impact
of the African swine fever
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By Bob Riley, Chairman of the Board |
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The African swine fever (ASF) is a chilling example of what can happen when our Farm to Table chain is compromised. The disease outbreak that started in China in August of 2018 has now spread all across Asia and Europe. Mark Schipp, President of The World Organisation of Animal Health, recently said that ASF could wipe out a quarter of the world’s pork population.
It is estimated that by the end of this year ASF will have reduced China’s hog population by as much as 50%. China, with a population of 1.417 billion people, is the world’s largest pork consuming country. The ASF epidemic combined with the U.S.-China trade war, has caused the price of pork in China to spike by nearly 70%. As a result, one of the most important staples of the Chinese diet is becoming more and more unaffordable for them.
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Two Feed Energy Biosecurity Abstracts
Accepted for Presentation
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In the last issue of the Catalyst, I shared information on research the Feed Energy R&D team had done on mitigating the threat of an outbreak of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus (PRRSv) through feed sources. As I said in the earlier article, our findings proved that pre-treatment of animal feed with one of Feed Energy’s R2 products effectively rendered PRRSv contaminated feed non-infectious. We felt the result from this research was a significant biosecurity discovery, so we submitted our findings as an abstract to two different industry scientific meetings.
The first meeting was the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, an annual educational event for the global swine industry held in St. Paul, Minnesota. I am proud to share with you the conference accepted our abstract and it was presented by one of our research scientists, Abdullah Mahfuz, in September, 2019, in the poster session during the conference. The poster presentation was a success and we received great feedback.
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New Research Supports Fatty Acid
Supplementation in the High-Producing Sow
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By Dr. Mohan Dasari, Senior Director, Product & Process Development
and Dr. Eric Weaver, Director, Sales & Marketing |
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Through changes in genetics and management, the swine industry has made stunning improvements in the efficiency of pig production in the last decade, particularly in reproduction and growth rate. Litter size in the U.S. has increased from 9.6 pigs weaned per litter in 2010 to 10.7 pigs in 2019 – USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service 3/28/19. As a result of the increase in reproduction efficiency, the nutritional needs of sows are being re-assessed.
Supplementation of lipids in the lactation diet to meet energy and nutrient demands has been a common practice in many successful sow operations. Essential fatty acids (EFAs), such as linoleic, α-linolenic, arachidonic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid are known for their numerous health benefits in animals, as well as, humans. EFAs cannot be produced in vivo due to the absence of certain enzymes, therefore, dietary supplementation is the only way that the benefits of these nutrients can be derived. |
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Our Chairman of the Board, Bob Riley, was
awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award!
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According to the Monmouth College website, the award is given to alumni who have brought notable distinction to themselves through outstanding contributions and accomplishments in their chosen field. To be a recipient they must also have exhibited leadership qualities and evidence of civic, cultural or charitable involvement.
In our opinion, Monmouth’s Alumni Board could not have made a better choice – Bob exhibits all of those qualities.
In accepting the award Bob said, “I had many people early in my life who helped me along the way. I especially want to thank Dr. Sam Thompson, my philosophy professor, who helped me discover a never-ending awe of systems thinking and logic through my philosophy major.” Bob credits that background for teaching him how to “THINK ON HIS OWN”. He credits learning that one discipline for much of the success he has had in both his business and personal life. |
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Bob Riley's Award |
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Congratulations, Dawn On Your
32nd Work Anniversary!
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On Friday, November 8th, Bob Riley recognized Dawn Ver Steeg for being part of the Feed Energy team for 32 years. As a symbol of his appreciation, Bob presented Dawn with three framed pictures of scenes she took looking out onto Copper Creek Lake from the second floor conference room at the corporate offices.
In presenting the pictures to Dawn in front of the Advisory Board and several employees Bob made the following comments.
“On this day we present these photos taken by Dawn Ver Steeg to Dawn Ver Steeg, a loyal employee for 32 years as of November 9th, 2019.”
“Similar to the lake and clouds and trees in the photo, Dawn has been a constant at Riley Resource Group and Feed Energy for all these years – changing with the seasons and getting better every year.”
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Dawn Ver Steeg |
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Niece of Cal Halstead, Feed Energy Sales
Director, Competes on “The Voice”
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On the October 7 telecast of the NBC show “The Voice” EllieMae Millenkamp was a contestant in the “Blind Auditions”. EllieMae is the niece of Cal Halstead, Feed Energy Sales Director. The song she sang was “Merry Go ‘Round” by Kacey Musgraves. About 44 seconds into the song judge Blake Shelton turned his chair around meaning EllieMae passed the audition and was chosen to move on to the next round as a member of “Team Blake”.
EllieMae is the daughter of Bill and Susie Millenkamp. Bill is the brother of Cal’s wife, Molly. EllieMae is 21 years old and was born and raised in Jerome, Idaho on a 15,000 acre dairy farm. Cal said she started singing in the church choir and taught herself to play guitar when she was in the seventh grade.
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EllieMae Millenkamp |
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Meet the Board – Kerty Levy
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Kerty Levy has been advising Riley Resource Group since 2015. Bob Riley, Chairman of the Board of Feed Energy, has known Kerty for many years – both as a family friend and through community endeavors here in Des Moines. Impressed by Kerty’s extraordinary resume and accomplishments, Bob thought she would be a perfect addition to his board.
“Kerty had experience in global business strategy, general management and new product development, literally all over the world,” Bob said. “I thought her background would be invaluable as a board member. And, I was right.”
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Kerty Levy
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