By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA
NEAFA would like to congratulate Past NEAFA President Andy Dugan on his upcoming retirement after 42 years of service to the agricultural industry. “After four full decades in the industry, my wife and I will be moving to be closer to our children and granddaughters in Gettysburg, PA,” said Dugan. “We like the history, the physical area, and we’re only 30 minutes away versus 6-7 hours away.”
Originally from Morris, NY, in Otsego County, Dugan got involved in agriculture as a youth. “I grew up on a small beef cattle farm,” said Dugan. “I love the feed industry, the science of nutrition, the mechanics of making feed, and the customer interaction of selling feed. It fit into my Cornell Ag Economics and Animal Science degrees. This industry is bigger than one person, it’s taken a mass of talented and dedicated people to get the industry to where we are today. The feed industry is interconnected with the dairy industry. I got started in the industry in 1982. Fourteen feed mills were constructed in NY in the 70’s, and their focus was on their standard feeds. The industry had a fundamental shift in the 80’s and 90’s, where mills had to focus on custom formulation based on farm specifics. That transition was an obvious one to make in hindsight, but several of those companies that built mills couldn’t figure that out and they exited the industry unfortunately.”
“This customization really took off once private nutritional consultant businesses were formed in the early 2000’s,” said Dugan. “It created the opportunity for feed commodities to be shipped directly to farms. Some companies are good at providing commodities economically, and others are better at providing those commodities in a customized mix. Another aspect of that is the hard work that educators have played in this change. Our Northeast educational institutions are the leaders in nutrition technology. In fact, they introduced the idea of total mixed rations and free stall housing, which revolutionized dairy farming. NEAFA plays a role in that too. Their educational and legislative missions have been effective and extremely helpful to our feed industry. In turbulent times like we currently face, I’m glad to know that we have such a strong voice for the industry, because we need organizations like NEAFA more than ever.”
“It’s exciting to know that I was a part of both NEAFA and the changes that have happened in our industry,” said Dugan. “I worked through these transitions industry. They were new, and presented difficulties of their own, but they also made for opportunities in the marketplace for both dairy farms and the feed industry at large. The young and not so young people in the dairy and support industries are brilliant. They’ll continue to drive innovation and improvement. It’s important to recognize that where there is change, there is opportunity for people to excel.”