The harvest season for grain begins in the northern hemisphere. Estimates of critical grain crops such as maize and soy, which are key ingredients for animal feed, point to an increase. The International Grains Council (IGC) published its latest report on April 20. According to the report of IGC, global grain production, which was 2.252 million tons in 2022/23 season, will reach 2.291 million tons in 2023/24 season. This means an increase of 39 million tons. The increase in corn and soybean production will have a significant share in this increase because IGC expects a 16 million-ton decrease in world wheat production, unlike corn and soybean. According to the report, world wheat production, which was 803 million tons in 2022/23 season, will decrease to 787 million tons in 2023/24 season. On the other hand, world corn production, which was 1.150 million tons in 2022/23 season, is expected to reach 1.208 million tons in 2023/24 season with an increase of 58 million tons. Similarly, world soybean production, which was 370 million tons in 2022/23 season, is expected to reach 401 million tons with an increase of 31 million tons in 2023/24 season.
These increase expectations are extremely important for stabilizing the prices of basic feed raw materials. In addition, as raw material availability increases, it will be easier to keep production costs under control. In addition to all this, the amount of each product produced should not be wasted and should be protected and evaluated in the best way.
Depending on the regions and seasonal conditions, the moisture levels in the grains harvested and the storage conditions of these grains cause both serious losses and safety problems. Unsuitable conditions cause toxin formation in grains and accordingly, a significant part of the grain is either lost or transferred to food and feed in a way that poses a risk to human and animal health. Similar to cereals, unsuitable storage conditions bring along toxin risks in compound feed as well. However, it is possible to keep these processes under control and prevent their formation.
In this issue, we focused on feed safety, storage and moisture management. Valuable representatives of the feed industry explained the ways to minimize the risks.
Enjoy your reading…
Derya Yildiz
