Genetics and breeding

Aviagen ANZ Parent Stock Awards recognize Star Ross 308 performance

Steady performance improvement in region demonstrates genetic strength of Ross breeders and skill and dedication of customers

24 June 2022

3 minute read

By: Aviagen

Oceania

Aviagen^® Ross^® 308 breeder customers throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands continue to raise the bar on breeder achievement. Due to steady improvement in the performance, health and welfare of Ross 308 Parent Stock (PS) in recent years, Aviagen Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) recently inaugurated an annual Ross 308 PS award program. Gold, silver and bronze awards were presented to the top-achieving customers in Australia and gold awards were given to the highest performer in New Zealand and the South Pacific. The categories were total eggs per hen housed (TE/HH) at 60 weeks of age and total chicks per HH (Ch/HH) at 60 weeks. Qualifying flocks were placed in 2020 and completed in 2021.

L to R: Michael Leahy, Managing Director, Aviagen ANZ; Sam McLary, Breeder Operations Manager, Darwalla Group; Scott Lewis, Livestock Manager, Darwalla Group

And the winners are…

Congratulations to the recipients of Aviagen ANZ’s first PS awards! Each TE/HH and Ch/HH score below represents an average of the whole farm placed.

Total Eggs/Hen Housed at 60 weeks of age

Region	Category	Company	TE/HH
Australia	Gold	Darwalla	193.47
	Silver	Ingham’s WA	192.49
	Bronze	Ingham’s Vic	192.08
NZ/Pacific	Gold	Ingham’s NZ	195.45

Chicks/Hen Housed at 60 weeks of age

Region	Category	Company	Ch/HH
Australia	Gold	Ingham’s WA	160.83
	Silver	Ingham’s Qld	159.66
	Bronze	Darwalla	158.37
NZ / Pacific	Gold	Ingham’s NZ	167.93

The Aviagen ANZ team celebrated the achievements of their top-performing customers at a recent customer seminar in Gold Coast, Australia.

“On behalf of the Aviagen ANZ team, I congratulate the winners of our first Ross 308 PS awards. The Ross 308 bird performs extremely well globally, and particularly in the ANZ and Pacific, as demonstrated by the exceptional egg and chick numbers that poultry producers in the region have seen. After a period during which we, due to COVID travel restrictions, relied heavily on remote service and knowledge-sharing, it is now timely to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our Ross customers among their peers and the wider industry,” explained Michael Leahy, Managing Director, Aviagen ANZ. Leahy went on to say that he is impressed with the high participation in the awards and the tremendous improvement seen across the region over the past years.

L to R: Muhannad Juma, Farming Operations Manager, Inghams NZ; Tash Heintz-Kampshof, Breeder Manager, Inghams NZ; Debbie Fisher – Technical Services Manager, Aviagen ANZ

The PS data was analyzed by Dominic Elfick, International Product Manager, who said, “The data sharing of the award process allows us to understand the full potential of the Ross 308, and how it is optimized through skillful and careful management. This region is now one of the most highly represented in Aviagen’s global database and the data provided, along with the outstanding performance demonstrated, will play a crucial role in setting the next round of Ross 308 performance objectives.”

L to R: Michael Leahy, Managing Director, Aviagen ANZ; Greg Evans, Farming Operations Manager, Inghams Enterprises WA

“Congratulations to the top performers, with a special recognition of the people on the farms, who strive to get the best from the birds on a daily basis. With good practices and attention to detail they have shown what the Ross 308 can potentially do with egg and chick output. I can’t wait to see what they do next year!” added Debbie Fisher, Technical Services Manager ANZ.