The last day of every year, I eagerly anticipate reviewing our year-end content analytics. Perhaps it’s unusual, but I find it fascinating to see which articles and news pieces resonated with readers. Some of the top-ranked articles are a given, but others reveal hot topics that may not have been so obvious. Here’s a recap of the pieces that garnered the most attention last year.
1. Super pre-starters
Nutritionist Ioannis Mavromichalis’ two articles on broiler super pre-starters topped the charts in 2016. In the article, Broiler super pre-starter formulation secrets revealed, he explores real case formulations; 5 alternative broiler super pre-starter ingredients looks at the additives used in drug-free broiler nutrition programs.
2. Exclusive data
Every year, Feed International’s Top Feed Companies report proves to be a popular draw — 102 top global livestock feed companies of 2015 was no exception. Last year, I sliced and diced the data drawn from WATT Global Media’s Top Feed Companies database to create a series of infographics.
Enhanced with statistics from the World Feed Panorama, the Top 28 European animal feed companies and 20 Top Asian Feed Companies infographics performed well.
3. Company news
Associate Editor Ann Reus took on two newsworthy topics involving some of the feed industry’s biggest players: acquisitions and scandal.
2016 ushered in a wave of animal feed industry acquisitions. Nutreco, DeHeus, Agrifirm, AB Agri and Invivo reported the largest and most diverse group of M&A, including the takeover of additive suppliers and other feed manufacturers. Meanwhile, animal health and nutrition supplier Alltech acquired four companies in the sector.
In late November, an ex-Cargill employee pleaded guilty to stealing $3.1 million from the multinational ag powerhouse. Former accounting manager, Diane Backis, admitted to mail fraud and falsifying an income tax return during her time at a Cargill grain shipping facility at the Port of Albany, New York.
4. Feed safety
Nutritionists are always looking for information on new feed additives and alternative protein sources, but the next two most popular features took a slightly different twist: feed safety. The regulatory concerns of using insect protein for animal feed in Europe captured much attention as legislators assess risk for the use of these promising proteins.
The article, Are probiotics as safe and effective as we think?, delved into a study finding that some probiotics can carry and pass on resistance to potential pathogens.
View the entire Top 10 animal feed news stories of 2016 list.
