The Seminar was held in Jordan due to the difficulties in visiting Iraq, but the live video link gave the Iraqi participants, representing Parent Stock customers of the country’s Ross distributor Rasun (part of the Vano Group), the opportunity to join industry colleagues in Amman from key Jordanian Parent Stock customers and the Ross Middle East Team for a full day of talks and discussions on breeder management.

Four different presentations were given with Dr Hosam Amro, Ross Technical Services Manager, holding the first talk of the day on the importance of first week weight in broiler breeders and how to achieve them.

Dr Amro’s presentation was followed by Dr Rik Van Den Bos, Ross Veterinarian, who went over some of the health challenges specific to Iraq and Jordan and reinforced the importance of biosecurity programmes, and Dr Seyfi Ay, Ross Nutritionist who covered the effect of certain minerals and vitamins on hatchability.

Finally, the session was finished by Ross Technical Services Manager Dr Waleed El Deeb with a talk on male management.

Dr Waleed was very happy with the way the seminar went, especially with the success of using video conferencing facilities. He said, “Because of the difficulties in regular visits to Iraq, we needed a quick temporary mode to make sure our messages and technical advice reach our distributor and their customers in Iraq.

“A video link was the perfect solution. The interaction between the delegates was just as lively as at any other seminar and the participants enjoyed exchanging information with each other and we would like to thank the American Grain Association for the use of their facilities for this important event.”

Attendees were equally supportive. Mr Karwan Bakir said, “The efforts of the Ross Middle East team in holding such a high profile conference are much appreciated and we would like to see more of these professional technical support events for our reviving Iraqi industry in the near future.”

After the success of this event it is hoped that the seminar will become a feature on the poultry calendar for Iraq. Dr Waleed added, “The idea is to make this a regular event dealing with different subjects over time. Nutrition, ventilation, health, hatcheries, management and benchmarking could all become topics for discussion.

“We have some very specific challenges in this region and we pride ourselves on providing all our customers with first-rate, timely and most of all relevant support.”