USDA Feed Outllok

Jul 14, 2015

U.S. corn planted acres for 2015/16 are forecast at 88.9 million acres, a 2-percent decrease from the 2014/15 estimate of 90.6 million and 0.3 million lower than March producer intentions. Corn area harvested for grain is down 0.6 million acres this month, and production is cut 100 million bushels. Beginning stocks are forecast 97 million bushels lower at 1.88 billion, with increased 2014/15 feed and residual, ethanol use, and exports.

Feed and residual and exports in the new marketing year are each lowered 25 million bushels, while corn for ethanol is projected 25 million higher. Lowered supplies and recently rising prices provide support for a 25-cent increase in the midpoint corn price, which, in turn, lifts all feed grain prices.

Foreign coarse grain supplies projected for 2015/16 are reduced and use is increased, mirroring U.S. changes and contributing to a 5.3-million-ton drop in projected global ending stocks to 222.1 million.

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Source: USDA

Video: 2026 T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science - Dan Weary

T.K. Cheung Lecture in Animal Science: "Using science to assess and improve the welfare of dairy cattle"

Dan Weary is a Professor at the University of British Columbia. Dan did his BSc and MSc at McGill and Doctorate at Oxford before co-founding UBC’s Animal Welfare Program where he now co-directs this active research group. His research focuses on understanding the perspectives of animals and applying these insights to develop methods of assessing animal welfare and improving the lives of animals. His work has helped drive changes in practices (including the adoption of higher milk rations for calves and pain management for disbudding) and housing methods (including the adoption of social housing for pre-weaned calves). He also studies cow comfort and lameness, social interactions among cows, and interactions between cows, human handlers and technologies like automated millking systems that are increasingly used on farms. His presentation will outline key questions in cattle welfare, highlight recent UBC research addressing them, and showcase innovative methods for improving the lives of cattle and their caretakers.