The XIIth feed industry conference, “Mixed Feeds – 2018 – Production of High-Technology Mixed Feed – The Key Factor for Effective Livestock Development,” took place at the International Industrial Academy in Moscow, Russia, at the end of March. USSEC co-sponsored the event, and the Union of Compound Feed manufacturers of Russia, the International Industrial Academy, and the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of the Compound Feed Industry organized the conference. Since its inception in early 2000, the Mixed Feeds Conference remains one of the traditional key events for the Russian feed industry, providing an opportunity to meet regional Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) community feed compounders and livestock and poultry producers.

 
More than 140 participants attended the conference, including important policy and decision makers, feed production managers; nutritionists; and purchasing managers. Specialists from firms, holdings companies, design organizations, universities, scientific research institutes and industry mass media also attended. Representatives from 23 Russian regions and 8 foreign countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Ukraine, U.S., and Switzerland) attended the conference.

USSEC animal utilization consultant Dr. Jan van Eys, attended the event, accompanied by Dr. Maria L. Domoroshchenkova, USSEC local consultant. Dr. van Eys’ presentation put the emphasis on the differences in origin among soy products in terms of composition, digestibility, and energy content. Reference was made to factors affecting these parameters and methods of determination (analyses and calculations). The presentation was well received as judged by the number of questions, comments, and discussions that followed.

Additionally, leaflets highlighting the quality of U.S. Soy and USSEC’s mission and activities were distributed among the conference delegates from the USSEC booth. The USSEC consultants had the opportunity to interact with industry representatives and get a better understanding of the trends and developments of the Russian feed, livestock, and aquaculture industries.
In 2017, the growth rate of Russia’s compound feed production exceeded the growth rate of the national economy. The total volume of compound feed production has increased 7 percent versus 2016 and reached 27.6 million metric tons (MMT), according to official State Statistics numbers. Such growth was pushed by the high demand of the growing animal production in Russia, especially poultry and swine industries – the main consumers of soybean meal. One of the serious problems of modern Russian poultry and livestock production is a shortage of the effective usage of high protein raw materials in feeding, which could be eliminated by the growth of soybean meal usage and other soy protein products in local feed formulations. The attendance and presentation at the Mixed Feeds conference offered an opportunity to educate local customers in modern feeding practice and it was an excellent platform to emphasize the importance and advantages of U.S. Soy.