The Feed Desk is the editorial team behind The Feed Report, covering the global feed industry, animal nutrition, commodity markets, feed safety, aquaculture, and the forces shaping livestock and food production. The desk monitors industry developments, research, market data, company announcements, and regulatory changes to provide timely, focused reporting for feed and nutrition professionals.
BASF has confirmed it is holding exploratory discussions with Evonik Industries AG and major Evonik shareholder RAG-Stiftung regarding a potential takeover of Evonik. The announcement, made on 25 September 2026, marks an early-stage development with no financial terms disclosed and the outcome described as open. The possible combination is relevant to the animal nutrition and feed ingredient sectors given Evonik's significant role in specialty amino acid production.
Ukrainian wheat prices remain depressed but stable as Black Sea export logistics keep volumes well below capacity, while German feed wheat trades sideways at elevated levels. The discount of Ukrainian origins to Western European benchmarks is expected to persist into early October 2026.
Agricultural commodity futures posted sharply divergent results in the week ending 25 September 2026, with November soybeans gaining 15½ cents to $13.19 per bushel and November feeder cattle surging nearly $14, while wheat contracts fell as much as 27¾ cents. China trade developments, harvest-season supply pressure, and commodity-specific fundamentals drove the split outcomes, according to a weekly market analysis published by Ag Bull on 26 September 2026.
A European Commission proposal to lower maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides not authorised in the EU could restrict market access for African agricultural exporters, including Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Morocco and Uganda. A Joint Research Centre study published in August examined the potential economic impact across 235 commodities and 86 exporting countries. Kenya has raised the issue at the WTO, warning of shipment rejections and income losses for smallholder farmers. The proposal remains under consideration by the European Parliament and Council.
NRGene Canada and Ile-a-la-Crosse Fish Company have validated a black soldier fly feed recipe built around local fish processing byproducts at semi-industrial scale, producing larvae containing marine omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA for use as a poultry feed supplement.
New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra has announced an incremental $1 billion investment over the next three years in the South Island to expand its protein manufacturing network and improve environmental performance, as the company reported a doubling of operating profit in fiscal year 2026.
A study published 24 September 2026 in the journal Animals reports that feeding whole hemp seeds to Holstein–Friesian bulls at a 10% concentrate inclusion rate raised zinc, magnesium, iron, retinol, and α-tocopherol in muscle tissue and improved the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acids, though higher inclusion at 17% produced little additional benefit and neither level increased long-chain omega-3 PUFA concentrations.
More than 622 people have fallen ill and two have died across three Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak clusters in the United Kingdom, with investigations pointing to imported eggs consumed at small food service establishments. European health authorities are also monitoring related cases across multiple countries.
US weekly export sales for corn, soybeans, and wheat for the week ended September 17 all came in below or at the low end of trade expectations, with Pro Farmer citing a stronger US dollar and elevated prices as potential demand headwinds. Meanwhile, the US-China trade truce was extended by two months, and USDA reported a daily soybean sale to China.
China's 2026/27 soybean output is projected at roughly 20.95 million tons, marginally above last year, but the market is increasingly split between high-protein, food-grade beans commanding firm premiums and ordinary, lower-protein supplies facing harvest-period price pressure. Wet and cool weather in key northeastern provinces around late September is complicating fieldwork and drying logistics, adding quality and timing risk to an otherwise stable volume outlook.
Vylor, set to become independent from Corteva on 1 October 2026, and Belgian agricultural biotech startup Rainbow Crops have entered a collaboration to develop gene-edited corn traits using AI, multiplex genome editing, precision breeding, and automated phenotyping, targeting improved resilience to heat, drought, and flooding.
The U.S. Grains & BioProducts Council participated in the APEC High-Level Public-Private Dialogue on Food Security in Dalian, China, alongside nearly 150 representatives from across the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on U.S. sorghum trade, bilateral agricultural relations, and regional supply chain resilience.
