This was the fifth conference in a series organised by the New Zealand Poultry Industry Association. Conferences are held every four to five years and attendance is by invitation only.

"This conference series has a very good reputation for presenting up to date scientific information related to poultry nutrition and for covering both applied and blue-sky sides of poultry science and technology in a most unbiased manner," said Professor Mingan Choct, CEO of Poultry CRC.

This year’s conference certainly upheld the reputation of the series. It covered a variety of topics pertinent to efficient poultry production in the future.

Professors Margie Lee from University of Georgia, Roger Lentle from Massey University, and Hank Classen from University of Saskatchewan spoke, respectively, on the role of microbial diversity, the actions of the avian gizzard, and functions of the crop in relation to bird health and performance.

"The poultry industry is probably the most advanced animal enterprise and there has been massive productivity gain in the industry via the use of conventional genetic selection, state-of-the-art nutritional management and meticulous animal husbandry," said Professor Ravi Ravindran of Massey University, New Zealand, who was the organiser of the scientific program and editor of the proceedings.

"Further gain, however, will be more difficult as feed ingredients are becoming more diverse and some of the tools used in the industry are slowing disappearing. Thus, we need to revisit and examine the roles of the gastrointestinal tract in more detail in order to keep a healthy functioning gut."

Gut health is a hot topic today in poultry science but practical strategies to maintain a good gut health are not easy to implement. It will not only require an in-depth understanding of the roles of various digestive and immune organs, but also the composition and functions of the gut microbiota under various circumstances.