EDINBURGH, Scotland. – On April 17, Aviagen® EPI welcomed 120 delegates from across the Netherlands and Belgium to the Breeder Focus 2.0 seminar in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. The event, a regional follow-up to the European Breeder Focus seminar in Edinburgh in autumn 2023, brought together a wide range of delegates, representing customers, the feed sector, veterinarians, hatching-egg traders, equipment companies, hatcheries and rearing integrations.
Henk Steenblik, Head Sales Manager, Aviagen EPI, organized Breeder Focus 2.0 and pulled together a comprehensive agenda designed to navigate pressing industry challenges and promote knowledge exchange between the attendees and speakers. All presentations were given in Dutch and included:
- Research and development update. Jens Lesuisse, Global Trials Manager, provided a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in the Aviagen breeding program, giving the group insight into future trends and developments in the poultry sector.
- Optimizing Parent Stock (PS) nutrition. Carolyne Kemp, Senior Nutritionist, shared ideas on ways to enhance PS nutrition, offering strategies such as balancing the ratio between energy and amino acids.
- Handling market challenges. Anne-Marie Neeteson, Global Senior Advisor Welfare, Sustainability & Compliance, Aviagen Group, addressed the complexities of the current broiler market from a welfare and sustainability perspective.
- Enhancing storage and transport protocols. Frank van Merle, Technical Service and Q & A Manager, Aviagen EPI provided advice on optimizing the storage and transport of hatching eggs, emphasizing temperature control and other factors for ensuring hatchability and chick quality.
- Male management best practices. John Lemmens, Technical Service Manager, Aviagen EPI, provided expert guidance on effective
The seminar ended on a high note, with vibrant discussions during a question-and-answer session.
Henk commented: “Aviagen EPI is committed to cultivating meaningful connections and knowledge-sharing opportunities within our regional poultry industry. We are delighted with the positive feedback from our customers on Breeder Focus 2.0, who found the event a useful platform to learn and exchange information to consistently evolve the welfare, performance and sustainability of their birds.”