The liquid supplement industry in the United States began more than a half-century ago. The first report of a simple molasses-urea mix fed to cattle was in 1943, and the first commercial liquid supplement was introduced in 1951. A 20 plus year periodof rapid expansion soon followed but the industry fell on hard times due to downturns in the cattle industry and over capacity in terms of production during the later part of the 1970’s and early 1980’s. Today, the industry has staged a significant recovery and is now dynamic and growing. There are new products that blend a wide variety of liquids and other ingredients to meet the needs of the feedlot, cow-calf, and dairy industries. Companies are now targeting the development of products for monogastric rations as well. There are new forms of product delivery, such as suspensions and solidified products (i.e., blocks). New companies are entering the industry and established companies are merging, realigning, and forming joint ventures. Because the liquid feed industry is evolving so rapidly, the current make-up of the industry is difficult to see clearly.
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