
Eyes on the Road:
Rearview 2020 & Scan Ahead 2021
Despite the pandemic and politics, last year was an eventful period of development and growth for D&D, vendors, and customers.
D&D milestones in 2020:
- Launch of new, customer-friendly website
- Full-scale operation of new state-of-the-art premix manufacturing
- Rail expansion to better support our transloading clients in the pet and livestock sectors
- Bigger 750-ingredient portfolio to better support our customers
- Expanded quality assurance and certification
- New Download monthly digital newsletter to continue to provide D&D updates to our customers and vendor partners
- New Knowledge X-Change webinar series to transfer knowledge from leading dairy experts to industry
Coming in 2021 for D&D, powered by our Core Values:
• More automation to support our production areas
• More storage capacity to support our rail system
• Warehouse expansion
• New inventory management system
Measures to control the spread of COVID-19 caused many animal feed and pet food events to “go virtual” with online tradeshows, webinars, etc. in 2020.
In 2021, as event organizers look forward to the relaxation of control measures, they want to build on their online experience.
For example, the American Dairy Science Association reports: “Even in the midst of COVID-19, planning for the 2021 ADSA Annual Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, is well underway… we are planning our first- ever hybrid annual meeting… while we plan to meet in person in Louisville, we will also have a robust virtual program available for those who can’t join us in person.”
By the way, ADSA 2021 marks the “reunion” with the annual meeting of the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) in the same location. More
Challenges and opportunities on the 2021 road ahead:
• Pandemic impact on industries we serve — overall economic effects are mixed with rising unemployment and potentially lower disposable income, but stronger demand for meat, milk, eggs, and pet products as consumers spend more time at home
• Dairy market trends — dairy producer profitability in flux but with greater demand for organic products, whole milk, and dairy products such as yoghurt, cheese, and ice cream, and with frozen pizza standing out as a “classic comfort food” More
• Ingredients risks and opportunities — 2021 brings greater public attention to biosecurity risks for both humans and animals, including risks associated with imported feed ingredients, which can become an animal disease vector More
To let us know your view ahead, please contact Download or reach out to Customer Service