Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame inducts two members

Two poultry professionals were inducted into the Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame September 10 during a ceremony at the Hotel Oro Verde in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Every two years, new members are selected based on their outstanding contributions to the development of the poultry industry and honored during a ceremony at the Latin American Poultry Congress.
Benjamín Ruíz, editor-in-chief of Industria Avícola magazine, and Greg Watt, president and CEO of WATT Global Media, introduced the new members and presented them with an award in recognition of their leadership in the poultry industry:

• Jesús Isidro Molfese, Argentina
• Horacio Raúl Terzolo, Argentina

The Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to recognize individuals who have dedicated their lives to advancing the Latin American poultry industry. The Hall of Fame is presented by WATT Global Media and Industria Avícola magazine, in cooperation with the Latin American Poultry Association (ALA).

Guadalajara will host Latin American Poultry Congress in 2017

Guadalajara, Mexico, won the venue of the next Latin American Poultry Congress of the Latin American Poultry Association (ALA), which is expected to attract about 3,500 poultry industry participants from Latin America and elsewhere, reported several media sources, such as Reforma in Mexico. This will mark the first time since 1997 that the Latin American Poultry Congress will be held in Mexico.
Tentatively, the event will be held in June 2017, in the Expo Guadalajara. 
Nicaragua was the other candidate country.
Guadalajara, second largest city in Mexico and capital of the state of Jalisco, has enough hotel infrastructure and tourist attractions. But one of the advantages of hosting the event is egg production in the state of Jalisco, which produces 55 percent of the eggs consumed in the country.
Mexico is one of the largest egg producers in the world, with a total of 115 million boxes of 30 dozen eggs each year. It is also the largest consumer of eggs in the world – with 365 eggs per person per year – and is in the top 10 of the largest producers of chicken.

Avinor, Aviagen educate Peruvian poultry producers at seminar

More than sixty poultry producers from throughout Peru attended the Avinor-Ross Seminar on April 15 in Lima, Peru, to learn about some of the most advanced poultry health and management practices. In a daylong seminar at the Hilton Lima Hotel, attendees listened to world-renowned experts on topics such as advanced genetics and large-scale broiler management.
The eighth edition of the Avinor-Ross Seminar was once again hosted by Avinor, the Peruvian distributor of Ross broiler breeders, with support from Aviagen, the world’s largest poultry breeding company.
The Peruvian poultry industry produces around 48 million broilers each month, nearly double the number produced a decade ago, according to the Peruvian Poultry Association. With the industry looking to increase broiler exports to other countries, Peruvian breeders are working to create more efficient and productive operations. The Avinor-Ross Seminar covered a variety of topics aimed at helping breeders achieve their growth and productivity goals.
The invitation-only event has featured an intensive program with six technical presentations.
“We’ve worked closely with Avinor from the day it became a Ross distributor in 1998, and we’re delighted to support this 8th edition of the Avinor-Ross Seminar,” said Luis Cesio, regional sales manager for Aviagen in South America. “When people look at the future of the poultry industry in Peru and Latin America as a whole, they look at strategic companies like Avinor, which has the foresight to ensure that its customers always have the latest information to ensure they meet their business goals.”
“This specialized seminar is a great example of how Aviagen works hand in hand with our customers,” said Ricardo Valle, regional technical manager at Aviagen Latin America. “Together we share a common commitment of collaboration that is focused on poultry performance, health, and breeding success.”

Access exclusive information on top Latin American poultry companies

The March edition of Industria Avícola contains data in Spanish about the top poultry companies in Latin America. 
Poultry production in Latin America had an inglorious 2013 because, among other things, the high cost of raw materials, avian influenza outbreaks and limited growth in the two largest economies - Brazil and Mexico - where chicken production had decreased from 300 million birds, while the egg-laying industry recorded an increase of about 1.9 percent in the hen population.
The March edition of Industria Avícola contains data in Spanish showing this information by country, as well as up-to-date charts of the 10 leading producers of chickens and eggs in Latin America.
Each country has its peculiarities, as in the case of Venezuela and the shortage of foodstuffs in general, the impact of avian influenza in Mexico, the beginning of the consolidation of Colombian poultry or mergers that have occurred in the Brazilian industry.
But how many chickens did Ariztía produce in Chile or Avícola Salvadoreña in El Salvador? How does the laying hen population compare between Brazil and Mexico? Is Ovobrand still the leading producer of eggs in Argentina? These and other questions can be answered by consulting our data-rich March edition of Industria Avícola.

WATT Global Media presents Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame awards

Dr. Alberto Ramírez (center), from Cuba, receives the Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame award from Greg Watt, CEO of WATT Global Media (on the right), and Benjamín Ruiz, editor of Industria Avícola (on the left).
The Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to identify and award those who have dedicated their lives to advancing the poultry industry in Latin America. WATT Global Media and Industria Avícola entirely handle the operation of the Hall of Fame. However, much of the success of this program is due to the cooperation and support of the Latin American Poultry Association (ALA).
This year, there are three new members who join the 61 members of the exclusive Hall of Fame over its 26-year history. This select group has everything: producers, entrepreneurs, professionals, academics, women and men -- every one of them with amazing trajectories.
The Latin American Poultry Association held a beautiful ceremony where the awards were presented, together with the awards for best company and professional from each country and the Golden Egg Award.
The selection of the new members of the Hall of Fame is based on the fundamentals that created it in 1987. The jury consisted of 10 professionals from the poultry industry in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela. It should also be noted that we had candidates from Argentina, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico and Venezuela that were nominated this year, with three of them winning the award:

• Ing. Miguel Chriboga from Ecuador
• Dr. José Antonio Quintana from Mexico
• Dr. Alberto Ramírez from Cuba

Latin America must increase efforts against avian influenza

Efforts to increase measures that protect Latin America's poultry production from bird flu should be increased, especially in light of the emergence of new avian influenza virus strains in China, an industry gathering in Argentina was told.
Representatives from the Latin American poultry association, ALA, the Argentinian poultry processing association, CEPA, the Brazilian poultry association, UBABEF, and from individual companies discussed initiatives to protect the region from the disease and increase trade.
Francisco Turra, UBABEF president, commented: "Health is one of the most valuable resources for poultry producers across the continent, particularly for the member countries of Mercosul, in which there has never been an outbreak of avian influenza.
"Because of this, ALA is organizing a meeting in July that will bring together government experts and the private sector from each member country to draw up a continent wide protection program."
Attendees also discussed the opening of the Mexican market to Argentinian and Brazilian exports of poultry products, and greater participation in world trade generally. 

Pas Reform, Agrobueyca partner on new Venezuela hatchery

The chick handling room at Agrobueyca's new Venezuela hatchery.

Hatchery technology supplier Pas Reform and integration and feed manufacturer Agrobueyca have partnered to expand Agrobueyca's Venezuela operations with a new hatchery.
The Pas Reform Smart single-stage hatchery, capable of producing 1.3 million day-old chicks per week, was completed in July 2011 and incorporates SmartSet setters, SmartHatch hatchers, an entire hatchery climate control system and a comprehensive hatchery automation line. "The new hatchery will deliver levels of automation that we normally only encounter in European hatchery operations, with automatic candling and transfer, in line sexing and in ovo vaccination and an egg grading line with point down setting and prehatch crack detection,” said Ranulfo Ortiz, Agrobueyca's business development manager.
The partnership, according to Pas Reform, allows the company to strengthen its presence in the region and build new relationships between the two companies for long-term growth.

Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame inducts 4 new members

During a ceremony at the recent Latin American Poultry Congress in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Spanish poultry magazine Industria Avícola inducted four new members into its Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame.
The Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame was established in 1987 to recognize those who have been pioneers and leaders in the Latin American poultry industry. WATT Publishing conducted the presentation ceremony in cooperation with the Latin American Poultry Association.
Below is a brief summary of the new members, in alphabetical order of their surnames.
Bernardo Lozano Dubernard
Born in Ciudad Mante, Tamaulipas, Mexico, he is a veterinarian at UNAM. He has over 100 publications and 150 lectures in Mexico and in Asia, Middle East, America, Europe and Latin America. He began his career at Pfizer Inc. de CV. He is a private consultant for the Mexican poultry industry and to date is president and CEO of Laboratorio Avi-Mex S.A. de C.V., Diagnósticos Clínicos Veterinarios S.A. de C.V., Fertileggs S.A. de C.V. and Grupo Industrial Pecuario S.A. de C.V. He has received awards from UNAM, ANECA and CANIFARMA / INFARVET. He was president of INFARVET - CANIFARMA and of ANECA. He participates in the Committee on Infectious Diseases of Birds in CONASA.
Miguel Ángel Jacinto Márquez Ruiz 
Born in Mexico City, he is a veterinarian at UNAM. He completed an internship in Avian Pathology with a specialization in Viral Diseases of Birds at the University of Liverpool, England. He is a veterinary science teacher at the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Paris, France. As a professional translator and polyglot, he has held various jobs and functions in the UNAM and UAM-Xochimilco, Mexico Vineland Laboratories, Dow Chemical Mexico, Laboratorios Intervet Mexico, Ross Breeders Ltd., Sanofi Santé Animale, Pfizer and Boehringer Mexico Ingelheim Vetmedica, as well as chairing several conferences and a consultant to USSEC / ASA, FAO, OIE, World Bank, the National Union of Poultry Farmers in Mexico and ALA. He is a member of associations such as ANECA, AAAP, WVPA, among others.
Ariel Antonio Mendes
Born in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, he is a veterinarian at the Federal University of Paraná. He has developed administrative activities at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and CADE CONDUNESP charges and commissions and working groups. He has an intense research activity, with more than 100 published papers, 250 papers, abstracts and articles in areas such as performance measurement and carcass quality, chicken meat and chicken bone problems. He is the author of books on poultry production and breeding, among others. He has received several awards and honors, such as "Distinguished Professional of Brazil." He is in charge of the Technical and Production Division at UBABEF. He continues his work with ALA, OIE and Codex Alimentarius. He was president of ALA.
Antônio Mário Penz Junior 
Originally from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, he is an agronomist and teacher in Animal Science from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. He is a member of several associations, including the WPSA and the Sociedade Brasileira de Zootecnia. He is currently Global Director of Poultry at the Provimi Group. He was professor of UFRGS, where he retired after 35 years. His specialty was the nutrition and feeding of monogastric animals with emphasis on nutritional requirements of poultry diets preinitiation, pelletization and the effect of particle size. He has published 345 papers in international journals and conference proceedings, has presented 360 lectures in 30 countries. He founded the company Nutron Alimentos Ltda, now part of Provimi. He has received several honors and awards at UFRGS, the Associação Gaucha Poultry and the University of Georgia, among others.
To view the rest of the members of the Latin American Poultry Hall of Fame, see the online Spanish-language database.

Two editors join Industria Avicola

Two editors, both based in Latin America, have joined the staff of Industria Avicola. Benjamin Ruiz, based in Mexico City, has been named editor. He has a degree in Nutrition and Foods from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City, has a Masters in Animal Science (Poultry) from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, USA and has worked in marketing, tech service and sales in Latin America for the American Soybean Association, Novus International, National Renderers Association and Wenger Manufacturing.
For the past 18 years, he has been a translator of the animal agriculture sector, with studies also in Translation and Terminology. He founded the agency Fabulare, SC and for the last 5 years he has worked as a freelance, in addition to being a translator of Industria Avícola over the past 18 years.
He can be reached at bruiz@wattnet.net
María de los Ángeles Gutierrez, based in Santiago, Chile, has been named managing editor. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Economics from the Universidad Católica de Chile, has a vast experience of more than 14 years as a journalist in Reed Business' magazine,
Avicultura Profesional, geared exclusively to the poultry area for the global and Latin American markets. She will focus on news and covering the South American markets. She can be reached at magutierrez@wattnet.net.
The two editors are supported by Kayla Kling, who began work for WATT on as an intern in 2009 while a student at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, with a double major in Spanish and Journalism. She now works for the Egg Industry, Feed Management and Industria Avícola from the company’s U.S. headquarters.
The increased staff will allow Industria Avicola to improve its coverage the entire continent both in the printed and electronic versions, with new features and means of communicating the latest news and developments in the poultry industry.

21st Central American Poultry Congress calls for greater cooperation

Antonio Escheverria, president of Costa Rica’s national association of poultry producers (CANAVE), reminded delegates at the 21st Poultry Congress of Central America and the Caribbean that the growth in the consumption of poultry meat in the region over the last 20 years had outstripped that of any other type of meat and that poultry producers were leaders in the use of technology.
He continued that the 21st century would be one of great challenges, and that the industry would have to make greater use of technology and improve efficiency.
Delegates at the opening ceremony were told that some 53 million inhabitants of Latin America still face hunger every day, and that the poultry industry had a major role to play in alleviating this suffering.
However, the industry could not act alone, Mr Escheverria continued, and would need to work in partnership with the government. The call for more government action was not aimed solely at the Costa Rican government, however, and he called on all the governments of the region to improve ports and roads to allow the industry to flourish.
Additionally, he called on the animal health services to be more proactive and tackle those issues that were currently causing trade distortions.

The government and industry must work together to improve efficiency and raise competitiveness, said Costa Rican Agriculture Minister Gloria Abraham Peralta.
“Governments must provide a rapid solution,” he said. “We cannot compete properly without this help."
This sentiment was echoed by Juan Luis Bosch Gutierrez, president of agro-industrial conglomerate Corporacion Multi Inversiones, who argued that communication between the public and private sectors in the region had traditionally been poor.
Costa Rica's Agriculture Minister Gloria Abraham Peralta paid tribute to the poultry industry’s clear vision for the future and noted that the government was working to implement a 10-year plan to improve the position of agriculture in the country.
She noted that neither the public nor the private sectors could work in isolation that the government was keen to not only encourage greater research and innovation, but to also ensure that the results of any research were properly implemented.
She added that she was also keen to strengthen communications not only between the two sectors, but also from them to the wider public to prevent the damage that misinformation can bring about.

Perdigão: Plant operations partially resumed

A massive fire hit part of a Perdigão plant, located at the municipality of Rio Verde, Goiás state, the morning of March 21.
Close to 3,000 employees were in the plant at the time of the fire, but firemen evacuated everyone and no one was hurt.
Perdigão said plant operations resumed, partially, on March 24, less than a week after the incident. The pork processing line was fully operational, while the poultry production was operating at two-thirds capacity. The company said its market supply would not be adversely affected.
The fire started in the boiler located in the further processing unit. Strong winds caused it to reach other areas of the complex.
The plant is one of the largest in the sector in Latin America. The complex has the capacity to process 2.5 million birds and 27,000 pigs a week, in addition to producing 250,000 metric tons of sausages and frozen products per year.