The National Corn Growers Association recently attended the Aquaculture America Conference to learn more about the industry and make connections with companies to discuss the benefits of corn and corn byproducts in aquaculture diets.
NCGA met with a number of companies and representatives while at the conference, including tru SHRIMP of Minnesota, Prairie Aquatech of South Dakota, Eagles Catch of Iowa, and various feed mills and feed ingredient companies including Cargill, Zeigler, ADM, Blue Ridge Aquafeeds and BlueWater Feed Company.
“Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector in the world,” said Feed Food & Industrial Action Team Chair Bruce Peterson. “However, 90 percent of U.S. seafood is imported today, representing a large opportunity to expand domestic production facilities. Aquaculture farmers continue to explore opportunities to increase the amount of plant-based feed ingredients used in their operations. Corn-based feed could provide an economical and sustainable option compared to traditional fish meal and would represent an incremental source of demand for corn and corn-based products.”
“Additional research, development and feed trials are needed to better understand the value proposition that corn may bring to their industry,” Peterson added.
Various topics discussed at the conference included feed ingredients, food safety and quality, nutrition and alternative feeds.
NCGA will continue to interact and build relationships with the aquaculture community to help grow demand for corn DDGs in the future.
COVID-19 Resources
NCGA is taking a series of actions to do our part to help contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the economic fallout it is creating for corn farmers and our customers. Short term, this means instituting policies to protect the health and safety of our stakeholders and the broader communities we serve. Long term, we’re focused on creating solutions to help corn farmers and our customers recover from the financial impacts of this crisis.
CommonGround
CommonGround is a group of farmers connecting with consumers through conversations about science and research and personal stories about food and misinformation surrounding farming. Supported by the NCGA and state corn organizations.
SHP
The Soil Health Partnership (SHP) is a farmer-led initiative that fosters transformation in agriculture through improved soil health. Administered by NCGA the partnership has more than 220 working farms enrolled in 16 states. SHP’s mission is to utilize science and data to partner with farmers who are adopting conservation agricultural practices that improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the farm.