During the 2011 Sosland Publishing Purchasing Seminar, hosted by Meat&Poultry's parent company, Scott Brown, program director of livestock and dairy at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the Univ. of Missouri, provided attendees with a snapshot of some of the challenges facing the meat and poultry sector. In putting the current conditions into context, Brown said factors such as income growth, employment rates feed costs volatility and crop predictions are, perhaps, more significant than ever.

He said the surging feed costs in 2011 are not unlike what occurred in 2008, however the industry has developed a certain level of resiliancy that didn't exist a few years ago. Paring back livestock production in response to spikes in corn prices, for example has become a more seamless, albeit not painless, process.


"The livestock industries in general have been learning how to deal with high feed prices much better," this year compared to 2008, said Brown.

To view Part 1 of Brown's presentation, click below. For information on the 2012 Purchasing Seminar, send an e-mail to:meatpoultry@sosland.com.