The event was organised by Misr Poultry Grandparents, the local Arbor Acres distributor for over 30 years now and part of the larger Cairo Poultry Company (CPC), with the Arbor Acres team directly contributing to the curriculum of the school.

The primary objective of the school is to educate the trainees and update them to ensure that they are aware of the most current practises when managing Arbor Acres birds. This is important due to the changing needs of the birds because of constantly improving selection, which offers better performance.

This year the school was attended by 35 trainees, made up of farm managers, engineers, nutritionists and hatchery specialists from the local area along with an additional 15 company owners.

Speakers at the event included specialists from the Arbor Acres team, university professors from the University of Cairo and CPC personnel, teaching topics such as recent disease challenges and prevention with a major focus on biosecurity, bird physiology and behaviour and modern lighting advice. The school also covered the modern art of male management, prevention of floor eggs and maintaining chick quality throughout the production chain. There was also a presentation with an in-depth nutritional overview and focus on the needs of the modern Arbor Acres bird. For the first time, the event included a presentation about the Arbor Acres brand and its world-wide distribution network.

Dr. Khaled Mostafa, General Manager of the Grandparent division at CPC, said: "We believe that our long term relationship with Arbor Acres ensures that we can work together to achieve our joint goal of educating the new generations who are in management positions today. They are the future of the poultry industry in Egypt and we are committed to ensuring that they, along with their teams, are up to date with the latest in the poultry industry.”

This year’s school also included three live case studies on chick brooding, hatchery trouble shooting and disease identification (differential diagnosis of diseases), which the trainees found to be extremely useful. These case studies attracted a lot of attention and interaction from attendees.

Puzant Dakessian, International Commercial Manager Arbor Acres, Aviagen®, said: "The entire event was put together with meticulous attention to detail, from the venue to the selection of speakers and subjects, including the popular live case studies. This local school is now at an international level. 50 years ago Arbor Acres pioneered the introduction of production courses believing in the power of education and these events show our continued commitment to education."