Steve Bourne was at the International Poultry Expo last week meeting with customers and friends from around the world. He is Alltech's Vice President in charge of the Asia Pacific region. Bourne's background is in animal nutrition, with a focus on the role of enzymes.

In this short video Bourne discusses some of the challenges facing the agriculture industry in Asia. Globally the big issue for the animal agriculture industry this year is commodity prices. Emerging markets like China and India are feeling even more pressure than other countries, as high commodity prices have started to spur inflation in food prices.

When the costs of production rise it focuses attention on efficiency. In animal agriculture that means increasing feed efficiency and getting maximum nutrition out of available feedstuffs. For instance, Allzyme SSF can give producer flexibility in their feed formulation. It unlocks nutrients in plant fiber like phosphorus and calcium and makes them available to the animal. This allows a producer to get equal or better production from a less costly diet.