The information-packed forum featured industry specialists in nutrition and production, as well as feedstuff and poultry meat markets, who offered their insights on current hot topics affecting poultry nutrition.

Full line-up of nutrition specialists

Attendees were welcomed by Kevin McDaniel, President of Aviagen North America, followed by presentations from Aviagen’s Global Technical Operations (GTO) nutritionists, as well as other industry experts:

• Feeding During Rear, Dr. Marcelo Silva, Senior Nutritionist, Aviagen
• Feeding Into Production, Dr. Bryan Fancher, Aviagen Group VP of Technical Operations
• Improving Feathering Via Nutrition, Dr. Steve Leeson, University Professor Emeritus, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
• Impact of Pullet and Breeder Composition, Dr. Benton Hudson, Senior Nutritionist, Aviagen
• Male Feed Programs, Dr. Alex Corzo, Global Head of Nutrition, Aviagen
• Male and Female Feed Management, Randall Vickery, Regional Technical Manager, Aviagen
• Economic Update, Dr. Paul Aho, Economist and Consultant, Poultry Perspective
• Meat Quality Genetic Update, Eduardo Souza, Vice President of Research and Development, Aviagen
• Meat Quality Nutrition Update, Dr. Elisangela Glass, Senior Nutritionist, Aviagen

Nutrition knowledge leads to customer success

Aviagen Head of Global Nutrition Dr. Alex Corzo emphasized the value of the Nutrition Forum to Aviagen customers. “The meeting provided a forum for us to convey to customers everything we have been doing with regard to breeder nutrition, so they can in turn apply and make decisions based on this knowledge.”

McDaniel also stressed the importance of nutrition knowledge to customer success. “Poultry feed and nutrition represents approximately 70 percent of the cost of poultry production, so it’s important for customers to optimize the full genetic potential of our birds and thereby maximize feed efficiency. Effective feed formulation and management is also of vital importance to poultry health and welfare. For these reasons, Aviagen invests considerable research and development in this area. We value events such as the Nutrition forum to share our latest findings for the benefit of our customers.”

“We welcomed customers from more than 15 countries and 37 different companies,” said McDaniel. “The meeting was not only a great opportunity for them to discuss common challenges and exchange ideas and information, but also to learn what other customers are doing to achieve positive results with our birds in different regions of the world.”

About Aviagen

Since 1923, Aviagen® has established itself as the world's leading poultry breeding company, developing pedigree lines for the production of commercial broiler chickens under the Arbor Acres®, Indian River®, and Ross® brand names. The Rowan Range® and Specialty Males® are specialty breeding stock from Aviagen that offer greater flexibility for customers to meet specific or niche market requirements. The company is based in Huntsville, Alabama, USA with a number of wholly-owned operations across the United Kingdom, Europe, Turkey, Latin America, India, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S., and joint ventures in Asia. Aviagen employs more than 3,900 people and has a distribution network serving customers in more than 100 countries.

For further information, please visit www.aviagen.com.