27 students from 17 countries recently came to Edinburgh for Aviagen’s production management school, to complete the breeder module. Together with Aviagen tutors and guest speakers, they explored the essentials of “Optimising Parent Stock Performance and Economic Returns.”
Working as project groups on a real-life case study, participants studied and discussed best practice in key subjects such as rearing and production flock management, ventilation, flock health, nutrition and data analysis.
Lee Meredith, Poultry Farm Manager from Almarai, Saudi Arabia, said he enjoyed “meeting with industry experts and learning from the best, while sharing knowledge and learning new ways to solve problems in other countries.”
Stephen McGee, Farm Compliance Manager from Moy Park, UK, appreciated the opportunity to “gain more experience managing a breeder farm efficiently to get maximum performance out of the flock.”
For Louie Zandro Zubia, Contract Breeder Manager for Foster Foods, Philippines, the key learning was the importance of management consistency. “My skills for presenting data have also greatly improved.”
In April Aviagen UK introduced the Next-Gen scholarship program as an encouragement to young poultry professionals. Rob Evans, Farm Manager at Avara Foods, was awarded the sponsorship for the 2022 EMEAA Breeder School.
Evans said his favourite part of his job at Avara Foods as “being around chickens every day,” and said attending the breeder school confirmed that “you should always listen to the birds.” He added that collecting and analysing “good data” is also important to improving performance, health and welfare. A highlight for Evans was “networking with like-minded individuals from different backgrounds. Attendees and tutors were all open and honest, leading to new ideas and perspectives.”