Photo credit: American Feed Industry Association.
The American Feed Industry Association hosted its annual Liquid Feed Symposium this week in Kansas City, Missouri, bringing together 149 industry professionals to discuss developments affecting the liquid feed industry.
Planned by AFIA’s Liquid Feed Committee, the symposium featured perspectives on policy, animal nutrition, markets, weather and emerging industry trends. The event also marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with AFIA recognizing the lives lost, first responders and the resilience of communities across the country.
During the symposium, the AFIA Liquid Feed Committee inducted John Bauerle into the AFIA Liquid Feed Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the cattle and liquid feed industries.
Bauerle spent his career working throughout the liquid feed sector, most recently with High Plains Feed and Custom Tech Feeds, part of the Brookover family of companies. Raised on a ranch in Amite, Louisiana, Bauerle maintained close ties to the cattle industry throughout his career. He previously served on the AFIA Liquid Feed Committee, where he shared his industry experience and leadership with peers.
Attendees also raised $18,600 through the annual Kenny Berg Fundraiser Auction. Proceeds benefit the Kenny Berg Liquid Feed Research and Education Fund, which supports research and educational efforts aimed at advancing the liquid feed industry.
The program opened with a welcome from the American Royal Association before turning to policy and legislative issues, supply chain vulnerabilities and broader trends affecting animal agriculture. Science-focused sessions examined vitamin and mineral requirements, cattle health and nutrition, and vitamin supplementation and stability in liquid feed preparations.
Attendees also received practical information on customer troubleshooting, feeding strategies, and cattle and carcass weight trends. The symposium concluded with outlooks on liquid and dry feed ingredients, weather and the cattle market, providing information on factors that could influence liquid feed businesses in the months ahead.
AFIA thanked the 2026 Liquid Feed Symposium sponsors for their support. Gold sponsors were Anipro/Xtraformance Nutrition, Elanco, Huvepharma, Quality Liquid Feeds, Skinner Tank Company and Westway Feed Products. Silver sponsors were Cerne Calcium, Feed Strategy, Global Animal Products, Performix, Phibro Animal Health, Double S Liquid Feed Services and Zinpro. Bronze sponsors were Active Minerals, Adisseo, Buffalo Molasses, ED&F Man, MGM Marketing, Midwest Agri-Commodities, Nutrien, Provitas, SGS North America and Tracer Minerals. Add-on sponsors were Quality Liquid Feeds, Tracer Minerals and Westway Feed Products.
Source: American Feed Industry Association, "AFIA's 2026 Liquid Feed Symposium Highlights Key Issues Shaping the Industry"