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The focus of this issue is dear to the key segment of the aqua feed industry that our magazine wants to serve: formulators. One of the early lessons that I learnt in the feed industry was the critical role played by formulator in determining the profitability of their business organization. Formulators work with nearly every key player in the feed business operation: buyers, nutritionists, feed processing technicians, quality control personnel, marketing team and even the legal professionals (in this age of regulatory controls on ingredients, prices, and other factors -- both internal and external -- that drive the feed business. One of my mentors in the feed industry once remarked "In this (feed) business, two people help make most of the money: the nuyer who knows when to buy what and the formulator who knows how to use the ingredients."

Formulation software plays a big role in determining the success of a formulator. Though the decades-old linear programming is still the heart of all formulation exercises, many advances have occured in the appearance, functionality and applications of commercial feed formulation software products. We are featuring three articles on feed formulation software in this issue. The first article by Mr. Richard Rossi offers grounding on formulation principles and provides explanation of common features found in formulation software. It is followed by an article by Dr. Bill Roush on stochastic programming. Nutritionists and formulators have known for years that there are many non-linear problems in feed formulation which cannot be adequately addressed by linear programming. One of the problems is managing the inherent risk in formulating a diet with ingredients that fluctuate in nutrient composition. Dr. Roush elegantly explains how this problem can be solved through stochastic programming.

The third article on the formulation theme in this issue is the presentation of results from a survey we conducted on companies that sell formulation software. For those looking to buy feed fornulation software, the survey will be of use. It is noteworthy that a survey conducted by the Global Aquaculture Alliance in 2001 found that less than 50% of shrimp feed manufacturers used least cost optimization. I believe that aqua feeds industry is a big opportunity for the formulation software industry and vice versa.

This issue features a letter to the editor Dr. Joachim Hertrampf and response to it by two authors from our previous issue. Active participation by readers in the content and delivery of the magazine is something we value much and encourage a lot. It not only promotes healthy discussion of the topics presented in the magazine, but also have "Experts Answer" to answer your technical questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

Victor Suresh
victor@feedware.com