USPOULTRY Celebrates 65 Years of Industry Service
US - US Poultry & Egg Association is celebrating 65 years of service to the poultry and egg industry. Formed in May of 1947 in Atlanta, the organization was originally known as the Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association and was created to help its members meet the challenges of the ever-changing poultry and egg industry. The organisation’s name was changed to the US Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) in the 1990’s to reflect the Association’s national scope.USPOULTRY represents the complete spectrum of today’s poultry and egg industry, with a mission of progressively serving member companies through research, education, communication, and technical assistance. Association membership includes producers and processors of broilers, turkeys, ducks, eggs, and breeding stock, as well as allied firms.
Association leaders recognised early the importance of continuing education for managers to keep up with the rapid changes and advancements occurring in the industry. This is demonstrated through the Association’s International Poultry Expo, which will also be celebrating its 65th anniversary with the 2013 Expo. It can further be seen in the oldest, still-running seminar hosted by the Association, the Poultry Processor Workshop, which was established in 1958.
Another ongoing legacy of USPOULTRY has been its research programme with $23 million reinvested back into the industry in the form of competitive research grants. The research is selected by a panel of industry experts and conducted primarily at universities around the nation to provide a comprehensive look at every aspect of poultry and egg production and processing. Additionally, the USPOULTRY Foundation allocates funds to over 17 schools, including six schools with poultry science degrees, to recruit students into poultry related courses or degree programmes.
Technical assistance is provided to the industry via USPOULTRY’s environmental, food safety, and worker safety / risk management programmes. A unique service USPOULTRY provides to sister trade associations is IT support, built on the IT expertise USPOULTRY developed to manage the International Poultry Expo and its own activities. Furthermore, the education department has been expanded to include extensive training and education. At present, USPOULTRY’s comprehensive list of annual conferences, workshops, and clinics help keep every segment of poultry and egg management informed and up to date.
From its inception, the ultimate goal of USPOULTRY has been to serve the poultry and egg industry and its members. USPOULTRY continues to be as dynamic as the industry it serves, always ready for the new challenges that will come in the future.