February 22, 2022

Aviagen's EMEAA Production Management School Alumni meets for annual webinar series

The Aviagen^® Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA) Production Management School Alumni assembled online during February 8-10 for their first annual webinar series, consisting of a breeder module on February 8, hatchery module on February 9 and broiler module on February 10.

The EMEAA School Alumni association debuted last year as an online forum to enable graduates of the EMEAA Production Management School to reconnect with Aviagen and former classmates and together continue a learning journey on how to best optimise the health, well-being and performance of Aviagen birds.

Led by a mix of Aviagen and external industry experts, the collaborative EMEAA alumni modules are highly interactive, providing opportunities for students to submit questions and offer discussion ideas before and during the sessions.

On February 8, for the breeder module, Tommy Krogh, poultry specialist at Danish animal production solutions company SKOV A/S, spoke on how to improve fertility through litter conditions and good ventilation. Aviagen senior nutritionist Adam Sacranie also led a discussion on preparing female birds for production through optimal nutrition. The session wrapped up with a Q&A session with a panel of experts representing R&D, ventilation management and nutrition. 

The February 9 hatchery module session focused on recent innovations to maximise hatchery performance. Topics included "Live embryo detection in the hatchery" by Jörg Hurlin, managing director of Agri Advanced Technologies GmbH, "New developments in temperature data loggers for hatchery use" by Yao Fang and Aline Ferreira, Aviagen's global hatchery and incubation specialists, and "Tools for evaluating static pressure and fan speed in the hatchery" by Aviagen incubation specialist Tolga Erkus. It ended with a Q&A session with speakers and the hatchery specialist team.

On February 10, for the broiler module, Krogh shared knowledge on "Good ventilation – higher productivity" while Colin Adams, Aviagen's veterinary health director for Europe, led a discussion on "Current disease issues and trends in broiler production." A panel discussion among R&D, ventilation, management and veterinary health experts followed.

"It was a pleasure to engage with our EMEAA School alumni in these conversations that are extremely important to achieving the best outcomes for their birds and their businesses," said school director Glenn Bushell. "The success of the alumni meetings is a fulfilment of our vision to give our former students a forum to stay connected with one another and with us, and to continue the exchange of innovative ideas that began during their EMEAA School experience,"

- Aviagen