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Poultry producers stand to reap major rewards despite the challenges they face in coming years, predicted Osler Desouzart, an international consultant on meat production.

Desouzart pointed out that poultry’s popularity as an animal source of protein has grown phenomenally. Since the mid-1900s, the accumulated growth in poultry production has been a staggering 2,049% — three timesfaster than the growth rate for pork and 8.7times faster than beef, he said.

As the demand for poultry has increased, so has the industry’s success in finding ways to grow birds more quickly and more efficiently, a success that Desouzart describes as remarkable. “We’ve made more progress in the past 10 years than our forbearers did in the previous 10,000,” he said.

Consumer values have also changed; consumers are more interested in how products differ from one another in quality and wholesomeness, he said.

Tips for future success

For success in the future, Desouzart advised poultry producers to focus on quality, creating value in their products, and on generating facts and data and making them available to consumers.

“You also need to be open to doing things in new ways and taking advantage of the latest developments in science and technology, including medications and vaccines,” he said. “The integrators who are the most successful will be those that embrace change rather than resist it.”

Also important for success will be fostering cooperation with competitors to push the growth of the poultry industry as a whole. “You’ll find the most success if you hunt as a group,” Desouzart said.

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