Aviagen EPI hosts first customer seminar for Netherlands and Belgium

Aviagen® EPI recently held its first customer seminar for representatives of feed mills, hatcheries, rearing farms and veterinarians serving Ross® Parent Stock in the Netherlands and Belgium. Attended by over 150 delegates, the event covered a wide range of topics relevant to the industry.

Otto van Tuijl, Technical Director, Aviagen EPI, chaired the session which was opened by Patrick Cos, Managing Director of Aviagen EPI, who gave an overview of Aviagen, an introduction to Aviagen EPI and shared global market information.

Henk Steenblik, Sales Manager for Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, continued to explain the genetic road from pedigree to broiler, highlighting performance at parent stock level and the achievements on a broiler level over the last few years. He reinforced the message that “breeding is something we do together” and also stressed the importance of a global production network to ensure security of supply.

Carolyne Kemp, Nutritionist with Aviagen EPI, focused on parent stock and broiler nutrition,  and explained that “nutrition and breeding go hand in hand.”

Frank van Merle, Commercial Technical Manager in the Netherlands, who also provides support to hatcheries in the entire Aviagen EPI territory, gave a presentation titled “Back to Basics.” He showed the group the differences between the best and the worst performing flocks and made economic evaluations about the financial differences.

Frank said, “A successful past is no guarantee for a successful future. However we believe that working with Aviagen EPI is working for a good future. In bird management it is the simple things first, like temperature, CO2, water, feed that are important. To measure these means knowledge and the opportunity to take knowledge-based decisions.”

Otto van Tuijl closed the day with a presentation about the range of specialty products. He showed the first results from the Yield Plus™ male and the Ross 308FF female, both of which have been under trial. Otto also explained the company’s position with regard to the slower growing broiler market in Europe and the opportunities for Aviagen EPI. He finished with presenting the first field results from both the Rowan Ranger™ and Ross Ranger™.