The Welfare Trap: Gut Health, Leg Problems and More

How are societal, regulatory and consumer pressures impacting the health of poultry flocks around the world? Sign up now for a free online session about this topic at www.WATTevents.com. It’s part of the WATT Online Poultry Nutrition and Health Forum to be held Wednesday, November 18, 2009.
An international panel will discuss how consumer and regulatory pressures impact nutritional and veterinary care and the consequences for flock welfare and performance. Discussion will include the impact of reduction or elimination of antibiotics on gut health, plus other nutritional, husbandry and health implications for leg problems.
Moderating the panel will be Dr. Peter Ferket, North Carolina State University. Joining him on the panel will be Professor Richard Ducatelle, Dept. of Pathology, Bacteriology and Poultry Industries, Ghent University, Belgium, and Dr. Kenneth Powell, Hubbard.
Other forum presentations will deal with identifying and dealing with subclinical necrotic enteritis and the effective use of enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics and competitive exclusion. A panel will also examine runting-stunting and malabsoprtion syndromes.

New event hours
New for this second in a series of online poultry nutrition and health forums are special event hours to accommodate participants worldwide: 03.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs (-6 GMT), 3 a.m. CST – 6 p.m. CST. Hours are flexible. Participants can log in and out of the forum as their schedules allow. Participants can also attend the archived version for 90 days after the show.
The forum allows poultry nutritionists, veterinarians, production/husbandry managers, technical consultants and manufacturers of animal health products, feed ingredients and feed additives to engage in real-time interaction via chats, group chats, e-mails, Twitter or the exchange of electronic business cards by making use of any available local internet access.
For more details and to sign up for this free event, visit www.WATTevents.com.

Online forum tackles gut health, decision making

Sign up now at www.WATTevents.com for the WATT Online Poultry Nutrition and Health Forum to be held Wednesday, 18 November, 2009.
This free virtual forum includes five world-class presentations and live Q&A sessions on poultry nutrition and health issues.Presentations will cover gut health, leg problems, identifying and dealing with subclinical necrotic enteritis, and the effective use of enzymes, prebiotics, probiotics and competitive exclusion. A panel will also examine runting-stunting and malabsoprtion syndromes.
Forum line-upDon’t miss the following presentations by world-renowned experts:
The ‘Welfare’ Trap: Gut Health, Leg Problems, and More: An international panel examines how consumer and regulatory pressures impact nutritional and veterinary care and the consequences for flock welfare and performance. Discussion will include the impact of reduction or elimination of antibiotics on gut health, plus other nutritional, husbandry and health implications on leg problems.
Subclinical Necrotic Enteritis: Identification, Prevention and Treatment: Subclinical necrotic enteritis, which can cost producers as much as 5 cents a pound in grow-out, may go unrecognized and untreated.
Nutritional Decision Making in Volatile Markets: With ingredient prices tied to the volatile energy sector, decision making has never been more challenging. An international panel will offer decision-making approaches and tools for dealing with this volatility.
Using All the Tools: Prebiotics, Probiotics, Enzymes and Competitive Exclusion: A look at new and\or potentially underutilized nutritional tools: prebiotics, probiotics, enzymes and competitive exclusion.
Runting-Stunting & Malabsorption Syndromes: Twin Perspectives: A Pan-American panel looks at Runting-Stunting Syndrome and Malabsorption Syndrome from pathological and nutritional perspectives.
New for this second in a series of online poultry nutrition and health forums are special event hours to accommodate participants worldwide: 03.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs (-6 GMT), 3 a.m. CST – 6 p.m. CST.
Hours are flexible. Participants can log in and out of the forum as their schedules allow.
Participants can also attend the archived version for 90 days after the show.The forum allows poultry nutritionists, veterinarians, production/husbandry managers, technical consultants and manufacturers of animal health products, feed ingredients and feed additives to engage in real-time interaction via chats, group chats, e-mails, Twitter or the exchange of electronic business cards by making use of any available local internet access.
For more details and to sign up for this free event, visit www.WATTevents.com.

Perdue Farms streamlines hatchery operations

Perdue Farms, Salisbury, Md., plans to invest $3.7 million to expand production at a hatchery on Delmarva and another in eastern North Carolina. The investment is expected to increase hatch production by 40% at one of the company's Salisbury, Md., hatcheries and nearly double hatch production in Kenly, N.C.
As part of the plan, Perdue will close its hatcheries in Showell and Bishopville, Md., in May next year. The company said it will offer the affected employees jobs in other Perdue facilities.
"The Showell and Bishopville facilities are outdated and require significant investment in facility maintenance and equipment to continue operating," said Mike Roberts, president of Perdue's food products group. "Maximizing production in our hatchery operations is in line with our ongoing strategy to improve asset utilization and competitiveness," he said.
Perdue farms is the third-largest broiler producer in the U.S. and produced 54.81 million pounds of ready-to-cook chicken weekly in 2008, according to WATT PoultryUSA's annual rankings.

Sign up for the free WATT Online Poultry Nutrition, Health Forum

Sign up now at www.WATTevents.com for the WATT Online Poultry Nutrition and Health Forum to be held Wednesday, 18 November, 2009. This free virtual forum includes five world-class presentations and live Q&A sessions on the latest poultry nutrition issues.
This is the second annual online event where poultry nutritionists, veterinarians, production/husbandry managers, technical consultants and manufacturers of animal health products, feed ingredients and feed additives can engage in real-time interaction via chats, group chats, e-mails, Twitter or the exchange of electronic business cards by making use of any available local internet access.
New for this second annual event are special event hours to accommodate participants worldwide: 03.00 hrs to 18.00 hrs (-6 GMT), 3 a.m. CST – 6 p.m. CST.
Hours are flexible. Participants can log-in and out of the forum as their schedules allow. Participants can also attend the archived version for 90 days after the show.
For more details and to sign up for this free event, visit www.WATTevents.com.

Still time to register for WATT Online Animal Nutrition and Health Forum

Register Today for the first WATT Online Animal Nutrition & Health Forum, April 29, the educational and knowledge-sharing event for global poultry, pig and animal feed professionals.
The event is designed for nutritionists, veterinarians, production/husbandry managers, technical consultants, and manufacturers of animal health products, feed ingredients and feed additives.
The virtual Forum will be held April 29, 2009 from 08.00 hrs - 17.00 hrs. CDT (-5 GMT). Attend at any time during the day! Need not be present all day! Enter and leave the Forum as your schedule allows.

The Forum will be open for 90 days after the live event. Register today and enter when you can.
You will be able to view the on-demand presentations, download valuable educational information and visit and communicate with sponsors when your schedule allows.

Click Here for a Tour of the Event • Free to Attend • No Travel Required

FEATURE PRESENTATION:
Antibiotics in Animal Feeds: World Perspectives
Moderator: Dr. Peter Ferket
Panelists: Lis Alban, DVM - Dr. Hector Cervantes - Dr. Sprangler Klopp

PRESENTATIONS TO INCLUDE:
1. Antibiotics in Animal Feeds: World Perspectives
2. Feeding the Weaned Pig for Gut Health
3. 10 ideas that Will Change the Future of Poultry Nutrition and Health
4. Impact of Alternative Ingredients on Poultry Feed Cost and Quality
5. Balancing Nutrients, Costs in Poultry Feed Formulation(en Español)

WHY ATTEND?
• Education and networking opportunity with poultry, animal feed and pig professionals from around the world.
• Live question and answer sessions with top industry experts
• Ability to visit "virtual booths" and communicate with poultry, animal feed and pig industry solution providers.
• FREE to attend & you can log-in from the comfort of your office or home.
• It's fun and just by attending you have a chance to win prizes including an iPod touch.
To sign up, get more information, learn about a sponsorship package or view a "virtual tour" visit: www.WATTevents.com.

Pilgrim’s Pride gains time for reorganization

Pilgrim's Pride Corp., operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, received an extension for exclusively filing their reorganization plan the company said today.
The U.S. bankruptcy court in Fort Worth, Texas extended Pilgrim’s deadline to Sept. 30. The previous deadline was March 30.
In February, Watt PoultryUSA ranked the Pittsburg, Texas-based company as the number one poultry producer during the previous 12 months, reporting a weekly ready-to-cook volume of 159.46 million pounds of chicken, a drop of 2% from the 162.78 million pounds RTC per week reported in 2008.
High feed costs, low chicken prices and large debt obligations lead the company to file for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 1, 2008.
Earlier this year Pilgrim’s said it hoped its actions of idling plants, reducing the workforce and streamlining operations would return it to profitability and allow it to exit bankruptcy by the end of 2009.

Online community launched for poultry industry

WATT has announced the beta launch of AnimalAgNet.com, an online social networking community for animal agriculture. The site is created for producers, processors and marketers and others working in any phase of animal agriculture, including poultry.
“AnimalAgNet is designed as a place for animal agribusiness professionals to network and share knowledge in a safe, business-only environment,” said WATT Vice President of Content Bruce Plantz.
Members of the animal agriculture community are encouraged to visit AnimalAgNet.com and join a community of their interest, make a comment, or post photos and videos. Groups exist for poultry production, regulatory issues, animal health, feed trends, environmental issues and pig production.
Community members are invited to start their own blog, or form their own groups.

Prospective buyers for Pilgrim's El Dorado plant?

A group of buyers has offered to purchase a Pilgrim's Pride poultry production processing plant in El Dorado, Ark., that is scheduled to close in May, according to published reports. Gov. Mike Beebe told a group of 250 workers and community members Tuesday night in El Dorado that it could be an "uphill battle" to make the sale. But the governor said those interested in purchasing the plant had experience in the business.
Beebe declined to offer any specific details about the group, other than to say they had been working on their offer for about five months.Ray Atkinson, director of corporate communications for Pilgrim's Pride, told WATT Poultry e-News that no meaningful offers have been made on the El Dorado plant. Commenting on the governor’s remarks, Atkinson said, “The idling of the El Dorado plant, together with those in Douglas, Ga., and Farmerville, La., is part of our ongoing effort to reduce costs and operate more efficiently as we reorganize the company under Chapter 11. These plants have been a significant financial drain on the company. To date, we have not received any meaningful offers on the El Dorado plant.
In addition, selling the El Dorado facility at this time would not address the fundamental problem facing our industry: an oversupply of low-value commodity chicken. “We understand the effect these actions will have on employees and growers in El Dorado, and we sincerely wish they were not necessary,” said Atkinson. “However, we are taking these decisive steps now in order to protect more than 40,000 employees and 5,000 growers of Pilgrim's Pride as we work to restructure our business and ultimately emerge from Chapter 11 as a stronger and more efficient company.”

Panel to examine use of alternative feed ingredients

Learn from three industry experts about the opportunities and pitfalls involved in the use of alternative feed ingredients in a presentation at the 2009 International Poultry Expo and the International Feed Expo Thursday, January 29, at 8:45 a.m.
In a WATT-sponsored panel, “Impact of alternative ingredients on poultry feed cost and quality,” experts will discuss the choice of alternative ingredients and how they impact costs, feed mill throughput, pellet quality and flock performance. The presentation will be held from 8:45 a.m. until 10 a.m. at the Georgia World Congress Center in Room C109.
The event will open with a survey of alternative poultry feed ingredients presented by the University of Georgia’s Dr. Nick Dale. This will be followed by an examination of the effect of alternative ingredients on feed milling and pellet quality by Dan Rollins, Aviagen’s feed production director, Dr. Tom Frost, Wayne Farms’ nutrition director, will then look at the impact of alternative ingredients on flock performance and profitability, which will be followed by a question-and-answer session.
The WATT seminar is free to IPE/IFE attendees.