ATLANTA – The American Feed Industry Association’s (AFIA) Production Compliance Committee hosted its annual Feed Education Program Jan. 29, covering what the animal food industry can expect from U.S. federal regulators in 2025. Program speakers discussed upcoming priorities for the Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with AFIA’s 2024 educational program opportunities and a discussion of artificial intelligence (AI) in feed manufacturing.

“With all the regulatory updates and changes, it’s more important now than ever for feed manufacturers to stay ahead of compliance changes. From injury and illness recordkeeping to heat injury prevention, these regulations directly impact facility operations and worker safety. Our goal is to ensure AFIA members have the resources they need to navigate these changes effectively,” stated Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s director of feed manufacturing and regulatory affairs. “Overall, the AFIA educational program provided a quick overview of what else is coming down the pike this year that may impact manufacturers’ ability to do business.”

The program featured Christian Richter, principal at The Policy Group, who discussed what we can expect from a second Donald Trump presidency, from a regulatory freeze of recent Biden administration regulations to the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the implementation of the Department of Government Efficiency. Richter also discussed what those in the animal food industry can expect from the EPA when it comes to the incoming administrator and how the industry can navigate the formaldehyde risk evaluation and meat and poultry products effluent guidelines. Huddleston shared insights from OSHA, including the OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Rule amendment, the proposed Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard and the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process rule.

Leah Wilkinson, AFIA’s vice president of public policy and education, shed light on the latest changes with the ingredient review and approval processes, including the loss of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and FDA memorandum of understanding, and the introduction of the FDA’s Animal Food Ingredient Consultation process and the AAFCO and Kansas State University Olathe ingredient approval partnership.

Paul Davis, Ph.D., spoke on the exciting education and training opportunities that the AFIA will offer in 2025. George Obeng-Akrofi, Ph.D., instructor of feed technology at Iowa State University and assistant operations manager at the Iowa State University Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex, shared an insightful presentation on AI in feed manufacturing, which included an overview of feed technology, the rise of AI and the backbone of AI data.

The 2026 AFIA Feed Education Program will be in Atlanta again next year during the International Production & Processing Expo. For more information, visit afia.org/events.