English language pre-show registration is now open for VIV Asia 2019, with online pre-registration in Thai and Chinese coming soon. Food manufacturers and primary producers and processors of animal proteins are invited to register now. VIV Asia will take place March 13-15, 2019 at BITEC in Bangkok. The feed-to-food event will cover all species and sectors of the animal protein value chain.

The Latin American & Caribbean Aquaculture 2018 - LACQUA18 and the VIII Congress Colombian Aquaculture - VIIICCA took place from October 23 to 26, 2018 at the Ágora International Convention Center in Bogotá, Colombia. A total of 511 scientific papers were presented at the event, which had 1609 attendees from 37 countries.

The upcoming 6th edition of the Global Feed & Food Congress is expected to attract over 350 high-level delegates to examine the ‘Future of Feed & Food’ in Bangkok on March 11-13, 2019. The GFFC will bring outstanding speakers from global intergovernmental institutions, renowned universities, national authorities and international Civil Society organizations, as well as CEO’s from leading global animal nutrition and food companies together to discuss the future of feed & food at sessions covering the Digital Revolution in Agriculture, Sustainability, Feed & Food Safety, Nutritional Innovation, Global Regulations & Policy and Markets & Trade.

A workshop training program using the International Aquaculture Feed Formulation Database (IAFFD) will be expanded to global regions beyond Southeast Asia in 2019. The IAFFD, a joint venture of academia and commercial interests made possible with seed funding from USAID and USSEC, is the first standardized, publicly available tool for feed formulators in the global aquaculture industry. Now in Stage IV of development, the IAFFD currently includes 29 farmed species and over 460 ingredients, including all commodity basic ingredients such as soy, corn and wheat. The formulations coming out of the workshops now are commercially viable. “As we move away from fishmeal and fish oil to more complex formulations, we want the industry to consider a nutrient basis rather than ingredient basis for feeds."

IFFO’s Annual Conference came to a close with calls to action following three days of fascinating discussions. In his closing remarks, IFFO’s new Director General Petter Martin Johannessen stated that the dominant message that remained consistent throughout the event was the industry’s need to improve how it communicates and engages with its stakeholders. “We have listened, are listening, and going forward IFFO will focus on three core areas. First, engaging our stakeholders from across the value chain, positioning marine ingredients as having the true value they have. Second, proactively communicating that true value and their unique and important role in global food production, while analyzing new areas that are ready for innovation. And third, evidence based approach means that we will stick to the facts and be transparent in our activities. We have a good story to tell and it’s our responsibility as both IFFO and the wider industry to tell it."

IFFO’s 58th Annual Conference is taking place this week in Rome. The three-day event kicked off with a panel discussion with industry leaders on the future of marine ingredients and the key challenges facing the industry. "If we ask the tough questions and engage our stakeholders, we can ensure the future of this vital industry. Marine ingredients are a reliable, stable and vital food source with potential growth through by-products. Let us be proud of what we do and the industry that we have."

AFIA has released a ‘save the date’ for the next Purchasing & Ingredient Suppliers Conference (PISC). The conference will take place May 13-16 at the Hyatt Grand Cypress in Orlando, Florida. Registration will open in December.

A one week Practical Short Course on Feeds & Pet Food Extrusion will take place Feb. 3-8, 2019 at Texas A&M University. The program will cover topics including designing new feed mills; recycling by-products and secondary resources; spraying and coating fats, digests and preservatives; use of encapsulated ingredients and preparation of premixes, and more.

A one week Practical Short Course on Feeds & Pet Food Extrusion will take place Feb. 3-8, 2019 at Texas A&M University. The program will cover topics including designing new feed mills; recycling by-products and secondary resources; spraying and coating fats, digests and preservatives; use of encapsulated ingredients and preparation of premixes, and more.

The European Aquaculture Society has presented its Distinguished Service Award to Dr. Margriet Drouillon MBA, Aquaculture Business Developer at Ghent University in Belgium, for her commitment and contributions to the objectives and activities of the Society. “Margriet definitely merits her place as one of those few special people that have given their time and energy in abundance to further the objectives of EAS and to contribute to its development."

The U.S. Aquaculture Society is offering three continuing education workshops at the upcoming Aquaculture 2019 meeting in New Orleans, LA. A full-day commercial aquaponics workshop will be hosted by the U.S. Aquaculture Society, Auburn University and a group of commercial producers. It will be followed by a Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Workshop, led by experts from GAA and BAP. The third and final workshop will focus on water quality and be led by Dr. Claude Boyd of Auburn University and Dr. Chris Good of The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute.

June 12, 2019 has been set for the 12th Aquafeed Horizons Conference, Aquafeed.com’s flagship technical conference for aquafeed professionals world wide. It will take place once again at the Cologne Exhibition Halls, (Koelnmesse), Cologne, Germany, alongside the Victam International trade show. Qualified industry professionals are now invited to submit presentations for consideration as part of the program. Deadline: December 1, 2018.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced they will jointly host the Coolwater and Mid-Continent Warmwater Fish Culture Workshops. The workshops will take place in Council Bluffs, IA on February 4-6, 2019. 

Registration is now open for the 2019 International Production & Processing Expo, being held Feb. 12-14 in Atlanta, Georgia. IPPE is offering the \'Members to Atlanta\' program, which provides complimentary access to the trade show for feed and pet food manufacturing members of the American Feed Industry Association. IPPE will also sponsor 30 people under the age of 30 to attend the event for free.

The Latin American and Caribbean Aquaculture 2018 - LACQUA18 and the VIII Colombian Congress of Aquaculture - VIII CCA will take place in Bogotá, Colombia at the Agora International Convention Center from October 23 to 26, 2018. Special sessions will cover a range of topics and be moderated by Session Chair Dr. Albert G.J. Tacon.

The next VIV Asia will take place March 13-15, 2019 in Bangkok. The event will be held in collaboration with the International Feed Industry Federation. “Big steps are going to be made in 2019, introducing Food Engineering at VIV Asia. The exhibition space that is reserved for Food Engineering is doubled, comparing to the Slaughtering & Processing part of VIV Asia 2017. Over 100 global suppliers will present their equipment, products and services in further processing, logistics, refrigeration, food/ meat ingredients, and packaging.”

Livestock Philippines 2019, the International Livestock Nutrition, Health and Production, and Meat Industry Expo, will take place June 26-28, 2019 at the World Trade Center Metro in Manila. Aquaculture Philippines will take place concurrently with Livestock Philippines. The event offers exhibitors a valuable opportunity to launch new products, meet decision makers and promote their products and services.

High Energy Mariculture Europe (HEM), the European edition of the long running Offshore Mariculture Conference, will welcome a range of speakers from across the globe to voice their international view-points. Speakers will include Tyler Sclodnick, Senior Scientist at InnovaSea Systems Inc.; Donna Lanzetta, Founder and CEO of Manna Fish Farm; Katherine Hawes, Principal Solicitor and Barrister from Aquarius Lawyers in Australia, and more.

AFIA has opened registration for its online feed manufacturing course, conducted in partnership with Kansas State University, Oct. 29-Nov. 30. The five-week, "AFIA 500: Fundamentals of Feed Manufacturing" distance education program covers a variety of topics, including: the process flow from particle size reduction, to batching and mixing, conditioning and pelleting, boilers, post-pellet systems, packaging and loadout, and maintenance.

This is the last week to submit abstracts for LACQUA18 in Bogota, Columbia; abstracts are due September 7. The conference will include three languages, thus abstracts, oral and poster presentations can be organized in Spanish, Portuguese and English.