Australian, New Zealand Seminar a Huge Success
AUSTRALIA - In an industry 'first' for the region, Aviagen Australia and New Zealand (AANZ) planned and hosted senior poultry executives from almost every company within the region at a two-day Technical Seminar, held in the Airport Hilton, Melbourne.
6 April 2011
4 minute read
With over 60 attendees representing the industry the seminar was a huge success with unanimous applause for Aviagen for the initiative and commitment to organize and succeed in putting the event together.
Comments from attendees were a reflection of their appreciation for the content of the seminar. “The real value of a meeting like this is as a refresher for things we need to highlight, review and assess how we are doing on the farms,” commented Brett Richter, Queensland Production Manager, Ingham’s. A statement from James Baker, Tamworth Livestock Manager, Baiada, “a great attraction is to take the time to review what we do on a daily basis, focus and improve. Another benefit from the seminar is the material presented is excellent and can be used to train our people back at work which is very helpful for management.” Tania Morris, Hatchery Manager, Baiada added “This is one of the best seminars I have been to, I like the focus on information and data to assess areas of improvement. Data can help address an issue and take any personalization that may occur out of the discussion.”
The seminar covered a diverse range of subjects and presented something for everyone. Topics from the agenda included recommendations from Aviagen and many aspects of production – flock health (IB Focus), biosecurity and vaccination, ventilation, egg handling, nutrition, managing with data, post hatch management, breeder uniformity, breeder and male diets, floor egg management – which were presented by specialists working and located within the region’s extensive Aviagen Asia Technical Team. The meeting also shared information on the resources and effort being allocated within Aviagen Australia to improve staff training and develop cadetships to attract younger people to a career in the poultry industry. The second day concluded with an in-depth review of the company’s genetic program and a performance update for the future from International Product Manager, Dominic Elfick.
Requests for Aviagen Technical Managers to personally visit and present many of these subjects directly to individual companies were frequent up until the Seminar close. Aviagen also announced its intent to alternate future Technical Seminars with the Biennial Pix Conference. This was enthusiastically received by the audience of attendees.
The meeting was designed to promote interaction and questions were discussed at the conclusion of many of the presentations. Two audience participation exercises were initiated during the presentation covering ‘Managing with Data’ which created good response and interaction from the group.
In closing the seminar, Bill Souther, Senior VP Asia noted the importance of serving customers in Australia and New Zealand with local representation and emphasized the strength and presence of both the regional team of support specialists and the local production of Aviagen products for customers in the region. “We also believe there is considerable value in being able to call someone in a similar time zone and receive an answer or response either the same day or within a 24 hour period,” he concluded.
