Feed additives are products added in trace amounts to animal diets or individual feed ingredients. They are often utilized as follows:

• Preserve nutritional quality of feedstuffs during storage
• Improve feed palatability and handling
• Provide essential nutrients and increase feed digestibility
• Maintain animal health and increase animal production
• Ensure the safety and quality of food products produced by animals
• Common feed additives used in the cattle industry include vitamins, minerals, amino acids (proteins), enzymes, antibiotics, and antioxidants.

Papillon specializes in feed supplements for the dairy feed industry, while MIN-AD’s product line spans both the dairy and beef feed industries. On a dairy, the largest single component of milk production costs is feed. Because dairy profit margins are impacted by both feed and milk prices, the demand for feed additives is likewise dependent on these variables.

The global feed additives market is growing exponentially and driven by a number of factors including:

• a global increase in the demand for meat and dairy products as a source of protein;
• an increased awareness of animal health and animal feed content;
• an increased interest in the nutritional content and safety of meat and dairy products;
• Farmers desire to improve profit margins through increased feed efficiency and production yield.

In North America, continued growth of the feed additives market is expected due to the expansion of industrial livestock production and, particularly in the United States, the increasing demand for high quality processed meats. Increasing meat consumption in Mexico should increase demand for feed additives in that market. In the North American market, amino acids represent the largest sector of feed additives.