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Dairy-beef systems and strategic breeding are helping dairy producers worldwide turn surplus calves into valuable beef, meeting market needs and improving animal welfare. Dairy-beef refers to non-replacement dairy calves, often sired by beef semen, that are reared specifically for beef production, creating a more valuable and integrated pathway for surplus calves.Dairy-beef is gaining global traction as beef prices rise and ethical scrutiny intensifies over the treatment of surplus dairy calves.Strategic breeding is essential, requiring the use of high-genetic-merit beef bulls or semen to produce non-replacement calves that can transform existing supply chains and lift calf value.Market signals are a key driver of momentum, but their strength varies by region. The US leads with fast feedback loops and Ireland with policy support, while New Zealand and Australia face slower signals due to less domestic demand and export market complexity.Unlocking the full potential of dairy-beef requires coordinated investment across breeding, rearing, processing, and traceability systems.Farm system compatibility matters. Not all farm systems can transition easily, and tailored strategies are needed for seasonal, pasture-based models.The opportunity is clear, but execution is the likely challenge. Developing dairy-beef regions, like Australia and New Zealand, should align breeding strategies with market demand, invest in infrastructure, and build integrated supply chains to realize the full value of dairy-beef.
The global poultry market outlook is expected to remain strong for the remainder of 2025 and into early 2026. We are maintaining our growth forecast for global poultry markets at 2.5% for 2025, which is roughly in line with 2024 market growth (2.6%). Poultry remains an affordable option for consumers, especially at a time when beef and eggs are expensive and pork prices have increased. Lower feed prices are currently flowing through the value chain in many markets, supporting industry profitability. Most markets in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas are currently performing well.
Poultry supply growth, especially in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America, is currently slow due to tight parent stock supply. This situation is not expected to significantly improve until at least early 2026. The fastest supply growth is currently predominantly seen in Asia. The Chinese chicken industry is currently one of the fastest-growing poultry industries worldwide, with 7% growth in 1H, benefiting from rising demand and increased restrictions on imports. Growth in Turkey (5%), the Philippines (4.5%), and Vietnam (4%) is also high. In some countries, growth has been too optimistic, leading to oversupply. Examples include Indonesia, where a parent stock culling program should help to rebalance markets, and China, where a government-organized sow-reduction program should help to rebalance the Chinese meat market.
Global trade continued to grow in the first half of the year, despite a significant drop in Brazilian exports in May 2025 due to many avian influenza-related restrictions on Brazil’s poultry exports between May and July. Global trade tensions, including US reciprocal tariffs and the subsequent trade agreement, have not yet led to increased US exports, but this could change in the near future, as trade access for chicken is a priority in negotiations.
Thailand, Russia, Ukraine, China, and Turkey have increased exports this year, while Brazil, the EU, and the US have seen declines. However, this is expected to change as Brazil returns to the market, and the US may benefit from increased market access. Other geopolitical issues, like potential further restrictions on Russian indirect trade, might also indirectly impact global poultry markets, although the prime focus will be on energy and other non-food products.
Avian influenza remains a major concern for the industry, and optimal biosecurity continues to be a key priority, especially in Northern Hemisphere countries where risks are expected to rise in the coming winter season. Increasingly, more countries have introduced vaccination as a tool to reduce risks (as seen recently in South Africa). New outbreaks are likely and will create additional volatility in already tight global market conditions.
Timbro, which has become one of Brazil's key sugar exporters, also trades other products ranging from iron ore to cotton, and handles imports of aircraft, cars, heavy equipment and various goods for Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab.
After posting revenue of 18 billion reais ($3.30 billion) last year, the firm is entering a market that has been lacking companies capable of tracking production, pricing, and ensuring delivery, which creates an additional opportunity for Timbro, Melles added.
Timbro already had financial operations with cooperatives and large coffee producers, but the 2025 crop year will be its first full physical operation, something the company had not previously
Melles joined Timbro when it was founded in 2010 by Jorge Guinle and Bruno Russo. Melles initially handled imports.
In the first year, coffee volumes are expected to remain relatively small, with the company aiming to trade around 80,000 60-kg bags, as it starts slowly.
In the sugar sector, Timbro's traded volumes are expected to stabilize after jumping to 2 million tonnes in 2024 from 300,000 tonnes in 2018. This year, the company marks a milestone with the start of commercial operations in the United States.
Another key development in 2025 was the opening of an office in Dubai, which was a strategic move to strengthen relationships with key clients and operate more efficiently across time zones.
Similarly, the company is expanding further in Asia to "operate on Chinese time," given China's importance as an importer of Brazilian commodities, Melles said.
Currently, about 65–70% of Timbro's business is focused on exports, with 30–35% on imports.
Timbro still plays a more limited role in corn and soybean exports, Brazil's top agricultural export commodities. Grain operations, Melles said, require integrated logistics to be profitable, something the company plans for the future.
"We're doing a few soybean and corn shipments, maybe half a dozen of each this year, still very limited," he said, adding that Timbro is considering a potential partnership for grain logistics.
In the steel and minerals unit, with more than 1 million tonnes expected to be exported to China and Europe this year, Timbro is expanding operations by initiating due diligence processes for new mining assets.
World Farming Agriculture and Commodity news - Short update 6th October 2025
Food group Nestle said on Wednesday it had withdrawn from a global alliance for cutting methane emissions that aims to reduce the impact of dairy farming on global warming, reported Reuters.
The Dairy Methane Action Alliance was launched in December 2023, with members, which include Danone, Kraft Heinz and Starbucks, committing to publicly measure and disclose methane emissions from their dairy supply chains and publish plans to reduce those emissions over time.
Nestle did not say why it was pulling out of the alliance but said it would continue working towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including methane, throughout its supply chains and was sticking to its net zero commitment by 2050.
On Thursday, Nestle said it was partnering with the World Farmers' Organisation to join efforts to help make food systems more resilient to climate change.
Climate alliances on the back foot
The move is the latest blow to a corporate alliance seeking to limit the impact of global warming, and comes as US President Donald Trump dismantles a range of climate protection initiatives. Several major banks, for example, have left the sector's main group leading efforts to cut carbon emissions.
"Nestle regularly reviews its memberships of external organizations," the Swiss company said. "As part of this process, we have decided to discontinue our membership of the Dairy Methane Action Alliance."
By the end of 2024, Nestle had reduced methane emissions by almost 21% compared to 2018 levels, the company said in its 2024 non-financial statement.
Methane is nearly 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency, making it a major focus of attempts to curb global warming.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, which launched the methane alliance, agriculture is responsible for nearly 40% of human-caused methane emissions, with the majority of those coming from livestock.
Nestle's logo was removed from the main page of the EDF's website, but the company's name still appears on other pages. The EDF said Nestle had decided to discontinue its membership after reviewing its external partnerships, but gave no reason for the withdrawal.
“We appreciate Nestlé’s ongoing commitment to acting on dairy emissions through its Dairy Climate Plan and Net Zero Roadmap," said Katie Anderson, senior director, business, food & forests at the EDF.
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