August 17, 2020

Aviagen: Ross 450 Club awards top achievers in New Zealand, South Pacific

In July last year, Aviagen New Zealand (NZ) launched the Ross 450 Club to recognise the performances of  Ross^® 308 SF (slow feather) growers in New Zealand and the South Pacific region.

The club is open to all Ross SF customers across the regions who achieve a European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) of 450 or higher. The EPEF benchmark takes into account feed conversion, livability and daily weight gain.

Aviagen recently added the requirement that the EPEF of 450 or greater must be based on the performance average across the entire farm, not just per individual flock. Results were collected across six months to the end of 2019. During this time, 89 farms were welcomed into the club based on this new criteria. Some growers have scored a farm average of 450 or higher every single cycle within that six-month range. Due to the considerable number of farms that have achieved excellent performances, the target will be lifted to an EPEF of 490 or higher for a farm average, as of July 1, according to Aviagen. 

"I'm amazed at how many growers flew past our EPEF target of 450. They've led the way in showing what is possible when Ross birds are managed effectively in a fantastic environment like New Zealand and the Pacific. I'm proud of the achievements of all new Ross 450 club members," said Debbie Fisher, technical services manager of Aviagen NZ.

"A huge congratulations to all the growers across the region for their phenomenal work and talent, and for being the first inductees into our Ross 450 Club," said Abbey Mathew, Aviagen NZ operations manager.  "This is a testament to their efforts and maximising the potential of the Ross bird."

Aviagen said the Ross 308 has become the breed of choice in the New Zealand and the South Pacific markets, benefiting the operations of poultry growers with its strong performance, feed efficiency, meat yield and robustness.

- Aviagen