The importance of achieving the lowest costs rather than always targeting the highest performance index was stressed by James Truscott, director of Cobb Germany, opening its first seminar in Hungary.

All the key players from the Hungarian chicken meat industry came together for the two-day seminar in the beautiful countryside near Paradfürdö, north east of Budapest, to hear presentations from the world-renowned specialists.

Cobb Germany's first seminar in Hungary

Mr Truscott said that with a dramatic increase in orders for the Cobb 500 in Hungary, the seminar was aimed at helping customers to take full advantage of its genetic potential.

He spoke about customer's needs, market developments and the impact of avian influenza and financial crisis on the way Cobb managed its businesses – with progress towards compartmentalisation needed to safeguard global trade during periods of disease outbreaks.

Dr Lásló Körösi, market manager of Hungary, spoke about the history of Cobb in Hungary from the first tests with Cobb colour-sexable broilers in 1975 to the current commercial performance. The orders for Cobb parent stock were increasing in Hungary due to the improved field results compared with our competitors, he said.

Matthew Wilson, broiler specialist in the Cobb World Technical Support Team, explained the importance of good house preparation, the correct start temperature, ventilation and the special feed regime using a cheaper low-density diet.

"It's essential," he said, "to use a Cobb specific feed, and Cobb specific management, to achieve the best results."

Others speakers were Patrick van Trijp, regional technical manager of Cobb Europe, and Dr Ermin Grbic from Bosnia, who described the excellent 2008 parent stock results, underlining the importance of farm specific technology.