Poultry farming key focus of Latin American Poultry Summit at 2025 IPPE
The diverse program was organised into five sessions
31 January 2025
2 minute read
By: The Latin American Poultry Summit, held during the 2025 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE), provided information about the factors that affect the efficient marketing of poultry farming in Latin America, according to a recent press release from USPOULTRY.
The program was organised into five sessions – grain management, food safety, genetics, breeding and health – and began with an opening session featuring two distinguished speakers, followed by an engaging panel discussion.
Carlos Campadabal, professor of grain science and industry at Kansas State University, launched the program by discussing the grain characteristics required for intensification and efficiency of feed mills, setting the stage for an insightful day.
He was followed by Wilmer Pacheco, associate professor and extension specialist at Auburn University, who discussed particle size management in concentrated feeds.
The food safety session was led by Juanfra DeVillena, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety at Wayne-Sanderson Farms, who presented on Salmonella regulations in the US and their impact on the national chicken supply.
He was followed by Jorge Amado, regional technical manager, Aviagen; Vitor Hugo Brandalize, world technical services, Cobb Genetics; and Thomas Dixon, global product manager, Hy-Line International, who guided attendees through the genetics session with their discussion on how declining fertility in breeders is being managed and what is new in layer and broiler genetics and how will it impact production in the next three to five years. This session concluded with a panel discussion that further elaborated the topics.
For the breeding session, Mike Czarick, agricultural extension specialist at the University of Georgia, provided insights on improvements in ventilation management. He was followed by Yari Lucerna, a consulting veterinarian, who elaborated on cage and cage-free production in the rearing of laying hens.
The health session was led by Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, professor, faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Montreal in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, who began with a discussion on practical biosecurity for all poultry sectors. He was followed by James Karkashian Cordoba, professor at the School of Biology and researcher in Molecular Biology and Animal Nutrition at the University of Costa Rica, who discussed the identification and molecular analysis of avian infectious bronchitis virus and implementation of aerobiological methodologies for the detection and characterisation of respiratory viruses in poultry farming.
Karkashian’s research team is the recipient of a research grant provided by USPOULTRY’s Latin American research program. The funds to support the Latin American research program come from attendee and sponsor support of the Latin American Poultry Summit.
