Aviagen hosts Japanese delegation poultry tour

Aviagen recently hosted 16 members of the Japan Chunky Association (JCA) on a tour of North American broiler farms and processing plants in the US and Canada.

The tour provided the JCA — an organisation made up of representatives of the poultry industry in Japan — with the opportunity to study management techniques and practices at the parent stock and broiler level in North America. The visits to some of the Aviagen customer facilities in the US and Canada provided an opportunity for the group to see some of the successful management programs for the Aviagen Ross 308 product in colder environments that are similar to chicken farming conditions in Japan.

The JCA visit began with the International Poultry Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, where they reviewed new equipment and participated in a lighting program workshop presented by Dr. Hank Classen, Animal and Poultry Science at the University of Saskatchewan. In addition to Atlanta, the group spent time at Aviagen’s corporate headquarters in Huntsville, Alabama, where they received updates on product performance, veterinary issues and biosecurity objectives. In addition to the presentations, Aviagen representatives accompanied the group to a local Aviagen customer, Wayne Farms, to visit a broiler farm and a processing plant.

One of the highlights of the trip was the visit to an Aviagen customer in Canada. Here, the group heard customer presentations on “Wintertime Ventilation” from Ron MacDonald, P. Eng., President, Agviro, Inc.; “Brooding for Success” and “Antibiotic-free Production” from Derek Detzler, R&D Director, Fischer Feeds, Ltd. The tour also featured visits to 3 local broiler farms to experience and discuss brooding parameters, winter time ventilation techniques and broiler management criteria to enhance production parameters.