The seminar was different from previous Aviagen events in that it moved from the classroom to the farm. Permskaya, Aviagen's customer in the Perm area, opened their farm to other customers to allow Aviagen technical staff to offer hands-on demonstrations. Neil Clark provided a ventilation display and Akos Klausz showcased best vaccination techniques. Presentations on both of these subjects, as well as male management and benchmarking, were given at the event.

Jonny Harrison, Regional Technical Manager, commented, "We would like to thank Permskaya for their generous hospitality in allowing us to use their facilities; it really made a difference to the whole event. Normally we are only able to make presentations and give people written technical information but because of Permskaya's generosity, we were not only able to talk about the work but also put into practice the techniques and advice on offer. The response from the attendees was very positive as they found it much better to watch how the techniques can be applied, rather than simply trying to follow pages of text."

Nikolay Roshak, Director of Permskaya and Kalininskaya Poultry Farms added, "We were happy to bring people together in the great Perm region and open the doors of our farm to our guests. The event proved to be very informative and worthwhile and everyone got a lot out of the meeting.

There was a lot of new technical information provided which will help us in our day-to-day activities. The seminar was an excellent forum in which to meet with fellow Russian poultry industry colleagues and the Aviagen team."

Aviagen also introduced two new members of staff at the meeting. George de Kock, Project Manager and Danny Rotherham, Technical Service Manager recently joined the team and will be very active in Russia and the CIS.

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of the Russian Best Flock Awards. Stavropolski Broiler won the award for best overall Parent Stock flock performance an average of 134 chicks per hen housed. The second award, for best individual flock performance, went to Permskaya, who achieved 143 chicks per hen housed.

Tyark Osterndorff, Business Development Director, said, "Congratulations to our award winners. The flock awards are simply an extension of the partnership Aviagen has with our customers: Performance continues to improve year on year in Russia and we are delighted to recognise the time and effort invested by our customers in their Ross products."