For this week's blog post, BRI Market Development Manager Juan Carlos Rosa-Medina interviewed Dr. Mike Williams, Director of the NC State University Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center (APWMC).
What are the new initiatives behind the APWMC and what do you plan to focus on as the Director?
Currently we have three major initiatives in our center: 1) A joint project with the College of Engineering and the College of Natural Resources at NC State where we offer university support for startup companies who want to create bioenergy from waste substrates. 2) Research on pre-harvest food safety issues related to waste management, which could help overcome issues we’re facing today like antibiotic resistance and salmonella outbreaks, and 3) Continuing research on our core topic: waste management.
Which states are doing the best job in animal waste management? Which countries?
On the management side, I think that all the states are doing a better job compared to a few years ago, but we can still learn a lot from some European countries. In a recent symposium that we organized, we learned that the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany have already collected two decades of emissions data, which allows them to create mitigation strategies on emissions. It would be fantastic if we could have the same data for the US. With that information, we could plan ahead for example, how to change nutrition to meet emissions standards.
Several poultry science experts we have interviewed have mentioned waste management as a key issue for the poultry industry going forward. Would you you agree?
No doubt about that. Long-term sustainability depends on how we address waste management issues for better health and less mortalities in animal production for example. Also, it's been proven that just by increasing the quality of air we can achieve better growth in animals.
Why is animal and poultry waste management such a difficult problem to fix?
There are three main reasons to that: 1) Because there’s been a historic focus on productivity alone, and state legislation historically has not focused on the environment. 2) It has been difficult to develop technologies that are economically feasible, and 3) We don’t have a mandatory carbon credits market system in the US.
What sort of advice would you give to a young person interested in pursuing animal science or poultry science as a career?
As an academic, I have the opportunity to advise students on a daily basis. I always tell them that as the population increases, the world is going to need affordable protein sources, but this growth is also going to bring an increased focus on environmental issues, so students have to be prepared to confront those competing demands.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Leadership - What would Don Draper Do?
I spent a good part of last week unplugged from my iPhone and emails while immersed in a Grinnell Leadership program last week. While a bit disconcerting at first, I learned to live in the moment and focus on myself and my thoughts about leadership. While no earth-shattering insights have emerged, I do have more awareness of thoughts, feelings, patterns and behaviors within myself and those around me. And that, according to John Grinnell, is a critical leadership skill in this day and age.
Let me try to explain what I think John means by offering my observation from watching recent episodes of Mad Men on AMC. For those of you who have not been near a TV in the last 5 years, Mad Men is a TV show that takes place in a fictional New York advertising agency in the 1960's. It follows the trials and tribulations of Don Draper, one of the principals in the firm, and how he deals with a world that is rapidly changing around him. One of the things you learn about Don is that he holds to a rigid world view that puts him above all others and causes him to behave in a way that subordinates and intimidates those around him.
I think the appeal of the show is that it harks back to a seemingly simpler time when men were in positions of unquestioned authority and got what they wanted based on their station in life. And as many male viewers who would like to be in Don Draper's shoes today, there are probably very few viewers, male or female, who would in good conscience choose to be a direct report of Don Draper's. Why is that? I believe that in this modern age, men and women (especially) have many options who they work for and the types of environments they work in. Furthermore, technology and communication have made information flow very fast and more transparent. People chose whom they wish to follow and learn very quickly to avoid leaders who lack integrity or character.
So before you mix that whiskey sour and start channeling your inner Don Draper at the office, think carefully how he would cope in this era of team-oriented, self-actualizing and socially responsible employees - he would go ...absolutely mad(!).
Let me try to explain what I think John means by offering my observation from watching recent episodes of Mad Men on AMC. For those of you who have not been near a TV in the last 5 years, Mad Men is a TV show that takes place in a fictional New York advertising agency in the 1960's. It follows the trials and tribulations of Don Draper, one of the principals in the firm, and how he deals with a world that is rapidly changing around him. One of the things you learn about Don is that he holds to a rigid world view that puts him above all others and causes him to behave in a way that subordinates and intimidates those around him.
I think the appeal of the show is that it harks back to a seemingly simpler time when men were in positions of unquestioned authority and got what they wanted based on their station in life. And as many male viewers who would like to be in Don Draper's shoes today, there are probably very few viewers, male or female, who would in good conscience choose to be a direct report of Don Draper's. Why is that? I believe that in this modern age, men and women (especially) have many options who they work for and the types of environments they work in. Furthermore, technology and communication have made information flow very fast and more transparent. People chose whom they wish to follow and learn very quickly to avoid leaders who lack integrity or character.
So before you mix that whiskey sour and start channeling your inner Don Draper at the office, think carefully how he would cope in this era of team-oriented, self-actualizing and socially responsible employees - he would go ...absolutely mad(!).
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
The Best Little Non-profit and VC firm You've Never Heard of
Last week I attended the SJF Summit on the New Green Economy, organized by the SJF Institute, a nonprofit organization that also has a VC fund (SJF Ventures) associated with it. Formerly known as Sustainable Jobs Fund Advisory Services, the newly re-branded SJF Institute has plans to (in their own words) "connect, inspire, and accelerate sustainable entrepreneurs and the fields that support them." As I understand it, SJF Institute is the non-profit arm that supports sustainable entrepreneurship through research reports and conferences and SJF Ventures is the VC fund that is investing in companies that are committed to help improve the environment, through recycling, conservation or renewable energy.
This conference, held in Durham, NC, was the second annual SJF summit and again focused on the innovations and jobs being created in the green economy. Although the US economy is still finding its way out of recession and environmental legislation has stalled in Congress, there was still plenty of optimism about the future of green innovation, as evidenced by the large number of private equity funds and a smattering of successful "green entrepreneurs" in attendance at the meeting.
My take home message from the summit is that for green energy companies with mature technologies and proven value, there is good money waiting to be deployed. However, the jury is still out as to what is the most efficient and profitable business model for companies to grow and prosper in the new green economy.
This conference, held in Durham, NC, was the second annual SJF summit and again focused on the innovations and jobs being created in the green economy. Although the US economy is still finding its way out of recession and environmental legislation has stalled in Congress, there was still plenty of optimism about the future of green innovation, as evidenced by the large number of private equity funds and a smattering of successful "green entrepreneurs" in attendance at the meeting.
My take home message from the summit is that for green energy companies with mature technologies and proven value, there is good money waiting to be deployed. However, the jury is still out as to what is the most efficient and profitable business model for companies to grow and prosper in the new green economy.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Brazil’s Golden Harvest
This week BRI’s Market Development Manager Juan Carlos Rosa-Medina explores the recent developments in the Brazilian agricultural economy.
As the US and European economies face an uncertain future, more and more companies in those areas are looking to emerging countries for international expansion. Brazil in particular has been in the spotlight for its recent rapid growth and its leading industrial players such as Petrobras and Embraer, but behind all that there has been shrewd strategic thinking from its institutions and businesses. So here are two main lessons, albeit with more of an agribusiness slant, that we can learn from Brazil:
1. Invest in sustainable growth. Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, has played a key role to convert Brazil’s once unproductive soil into the source of some of the world’s most productive farmland. They have done this by painstakingly adding nutrients to the soil to improve productivity, leveraging genetics to produce grasslands for their cattle, and adapting foreign crops to their local environment. Their model has been so successful that they have already surpassed the agricultural output of other Latin American countries and are a closing in on American production of crops such as soybeans.
2. Strengthen your base and reach out. According to the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Brazil has turned into the only Latin American net foreign investor because of the convergence of political stability, market oriented reforms, and macroeconomic soundness. This environment has increased competitiveness among Brazilian companies, which are now looking outside their territory to expand. A few examples include Brazilian company JBS, which acquired the US Beef production division of Smithfield Farms in 2008 and the poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride in 2009, making it the world’s largest meat producer; Brasil Foods, the merger of Sadia and Perdigao, hold equal or bigger market capitalization than US-based Tyson and Hormel Foods, and the purchase of Burger King at a 46% premium by the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital show Brazilian businesses flexing their economic muscles.
But running counter to real innovation and scalable business growth is a culture of informal markets that is endemic in Latin American businesses and society. The Brazilian expression “jeitinho”, for example, is usually associated with working around the rules by leveraging personal connections and favors to get things done. Thus, the challenge going forward for Brazil as it steps onto the world’s stage, will be how to transition to a more formal economy that will be increasingly trusted and respected by her growing number of trading partners from abroad.
As the US and European economies face an uncertain future, more and more companies in those areas are looking to emerging countries for international expansion. Brazil in particular has been in the spotlight for its recent rapid growth and its leading industrial players such as Petrobras and Embraer, but behind all that there has been shrewd strategic thinking from its institutions and businesses. So here are two main lessons, albeit with more of an agribusiness slant, that we can learn from Brazil:
1. Invest in sustainable growth. Embrapa, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, has played a key role to convert Brazil’s once unproductive soil into the source of some of the world’s most productive farmland. They have done this by painstakingly adding nutrients to the soil to improve productivity, leveraging genetics to produce grasslands for their cattle, and adapting foreign crops to their local environment. Their model has been so successful that they have already surpassed the agricultural output of other Latin American countries and are a closing in on American production of crops such as soybeans.
2. Strengthen your base and reach out. According to the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Brazil has turned into the only Latin American net foreign investor because of the convergence of political stability, market oriented reforms, and macroeconomic soundness. This environment has increased competitiveness among Brazilian companies, which are now looking outside their territory to expand. A few examples include Brazilian company JBS, which acquired the US Beef production division of Smithfield Farms in 2008 and the poultry producer Pilgrim’s Pride in 2009, making it the world’s largest meat producer; Brasil Foods, the merger of Sadia and Perdigao, hold equal or bigger market capitalization than US-based Tyson and Hormel Foods, and the purchase of Burger King at a 46% premium by the Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital show Brazilian businesses flexing their economic muscles.
But running counter to real innovation and scalable business growth is a culture of informal markets that is endemic in Latin American businesses and society. The Brazilian expression “jeitinho”, for example, is usually associated with working around the rules by leveraging personal connections and favors to get things done. Thus, the challenge going forward for Brazil as it steps onto the world’s stage, will be how to transition to a more formal economy that will be increasingly trusted and respected by her growing number of trading partners from abroad.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
NCSU Poultry Science Department Head Weighs in on the Future of Poultry
For this week’s blog, we interviewed Dr. Sam Pardue, head of the Poultry Science Department at NC State University. Dr. Pardue shared with us his insights on the challenges faced by the modern poultry industry and how academia might be able to help meet those challenges now and in the future.
BRI Blog: What do you see are the challenges for the poultry industry?
First, increasing output under high cost pressure. By 2030 we have to double the amount of food we produce for an ever growing world population, and poultry is at the top of the list as a protein source given its low cost and high quality relative to other livestock such as swine and cattle. At the same time, the industry will face increasing pressure on cost. According to the agricultural statistics firm Agristats, feed costs have increased from 51% of farmers’ input costs in 2000 to 62% in 2009 and the costs continue to rise as a result of increasing demand for feedstuffs.
Second, given this situation, there is going to be an increased pressure to use non-traditional feedstuffs to decrease costs. As conventional feedstuffs such as corn and soybean increase in price, other alternative feedstuffs will be used and enzymes will play an increasingly important role to maximize the nutritional value of these feedstuffs. Also, sooner or later producers will have to rethink the formula that least cost formulation equals maximal profit, and that finding creative ways to extend their brands to the grocer’s shelves can also maximize profit.
Third, poultry companies will have to make greater effort on their public relations. The recent salmonella outbreak is just one example of how a few bad players can harm an entire industry. Not so long ago events like this caused bankruptcies in the beef industry. Producers will need to invest in more traceability in their supply chains while also educating consumers that organic farming is not the answer to meet the global demands for poultry production. Nowadays, consumers are not only interested about price, but also on the quality and safety of the products they consume. The industry cannot close their doors to more alternatives, but it also has to tell consumers why their products are safe.
BRI Blog: What do you see is the role of academia given these challenges?
We have to convince the best and brightest students that there is a career in agriculture and that they could have a fulfilling experience in the industry. However, as a result of shrinking budgets and smaller class sizes, few of our fellow academic units have been able to survive as independent departments. In the 1960s there were forty independent departments of poultry science in the US, now there are only six. In the past, every industrial farm complex had a scientist on staff; now because of integration and better communications, there are fewer of those positions in these large companies. Regardless of industry trends, it is the responsibility of academia to train future industry leaders and to do research that will drive innovation in the future of the industry.
BRI Blog: What do you see are the challenges for the poultry industry?
First, increasing output under high cost pressure. By 2030 we have to double the amount of food we produce for an ever growing world population, and poultry is at the top of the list as a protein source given its low cost and high quality relative to other livestock such as swine and cattle. At the same time, the industry will face increasing pressure on cost. According to the agricultural statistics firm Agristats, feed costs have increased from 51% of farmers’ input costs in 2000 to 62% in 2009 and the costs continue to rise as a result of increasing demand for feedstuffs.
Second, given this situation, there is going to be an increased pressure to use non-traditional feedstuffs to decrease costs. As conventional feedstuffs such as corn and soybean increase in price, other alternative feedstuffs will be used and enzymes will play an increasingly important role to maximize the nutritional value of these feedstuffs. Also, sooner or later producers will have to rethink the formula that least cost formulation equals maximal profit, and that finding creative ways to extend their brands to the grocer’s shelves can also maximize profit.
Third, poultry companies will have to make greater effort on their public relations. The recent salmonella outbreak is just one example of how a few bad players can harm an entire industry. Not so long ago events like this caused bankruptcies in the beef industry. Producers will need to invest in more traceability in their supply chains while also educating consumers that organic farming is not the answer to meet the global demands for poultry production. Nowadays, consumers are not only interested about price, but also on the quality and safety of the products they consume. The industry cannot close their doors to more alternatives, but it also has to tell consumers why their products are safe.
BRI Blog: What do you see is the role of academia given these challenges?
We have to convince the best and brightest students that there is a career in agriculture and that they could have a fulfilling experience in the industry. However, as a result of shrinking budgets and smaller class sizes, few of our fellow academic units have been able to survive as independent departments. In the 1960s there were forty independent departments of poultry science in the US, now there are only six. In the past, every industrial farm complex had a scientist on staff; now because of integration and better communications, there are fewer of those positions in these large companies. Regardless of industry trends, it is the responsibility of academia to train future industry leaders and to do research that will drive innovation in the future of the industry.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Poultry Genetics and Management - Achievements and Challenges According to Gerald Havenstein - 8/31/2010
For this week’s blog, we interviewed Dr. Gerald “Gerry” Havenstein, former head of the NCSU Department of Poultry Science. Dr. Havenstein discussed his highly regarded research on broiler performance changes over the past few decades, as well as his views on challenges facing the poultry industry in the future.
BRI Blog: As an expert in poultry genetics, you have researched how the poultry industry has improved broiler performance over the past half century. What has driven these changes? Nutrition? Genetics? Management?
Our research has shown that genetic selection for improved performance is responsible for about 85% of the increased growth rate and yield in broilers during the 44 years between 1957 and 2001. In a paper that several of my colleagues and I wrote about the growth, livability, and feed conversion of broilers from 1957 through 2001 (one of the most frequently cited papers in the Journal of Poultry Science), we observed that a male broiler used to take about 12 weeks to reach a target weigh of 3.5 lbs. Nowadays, typical male broilers are able to achieve that same weight in about 4 weeks.
BRI Blog: Where will further advances come from?
I believe that the greatest return on investment will come from genetic selection, both between and within lines. There is still lots of potential for increasing the growth and yield of broiler chickens. However, there is a concern with regard to the training of geneticists who will carry out the industry’s selection procedures in the future. That is fewer and fewer individuals are being trained in quantitative genetics due to the reduced number of positions available at breeding companies due to industry consolidation.
BRI Blog: What are the major challenges that poultry science will face in the future?
I think there are still three issues that must be addressed: 1) Food safety: Although we have the best food supply the world has ever known, there is still opportunity for companies to improve their food safety procedures. This is clearly borne out by the recent salmonella enteritis problems in a segment of the table egg industry. 2) Waste management: Technologies for managing farm waste have to become more cost-effective and must be adopted by the industry as a whole; but, until everyone is required to adopt such technologies, they will not happen. Companies who want to adopt superior methods currently are not doing so, because the costs involved make them non-competitive with companies who do not adopt them. 3) Transparency: I believe that technology has given us a very safe and better food supply, but some groups believe that free-range or organic farming is the only safe alternative to recent problems. Organic farming is fine for a certain small segment of the population, but production of the billions and billions of broilers that are required each year to feed the world in an affordable manner will continue to require large scale poultry production. The industry must step up and address the questions and concerns that their customers have about how they are growing and feeding the birds they market to them.
BRI Blog: What would you describe as your most notable achievements at NCSU?
I am very proud of what the Poultry Science Department at NC State achieved during my tenure as its Department Head, and it is hard to choose any favorites. Some of the important achievements during my tenure included the development of the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center, the development of a new state-of-the-art instructional feed mill, the development of a training facility for poultry processing, and a new undergraduate poultry teaching unit. We also developed excellent collaborative research ties with a number of other universities around the U.S. and around the world. All of these things came about because of the excellent group of faculty that was present in the Poultry Science Department during my tenure.
BRI Blog: As an expert in poultry genetics, you have researched how the poultry industry has improved broiler performance over the past half century. What has driven these changes? Nutrition? Genetics? Management?
Our research has shown that genetic selection for improved performance is responsible for about 85% of the increased growth rate and yield in broilers during the 44 years between 1957 and 2001. In a paper that several of my colleagues and I wrote about the growth, livability, and feed conversion of broilers from 1957 through 2001 (one of the most frequently cited papers in the Journal of Poultry Science), we observed that a male broiler used to take about 12 weeks to reach a target weigh of 3.5 lbs. Nowadays, typical male broilers are able to achieve that same weight in about 4 weeks.
BRI Blog: Where will further advances come from?
I believe that the greatest return on investment will come from genetic selection, both between and within lines. There is still lots of potential for increasing the growth and yield of broiler chickens. However, there is a concern with regard to the training of geneticists who will carry out the industry’s selection procedures in the future. That is fewer and fewer individuals are being trained in quantitative genetics due to the reduced number of positions available at breeding companies due to industry consolidation.
BRI Blog: What are the major challenges that poultry science will face in the future?
I think there are still three issues that must be addressed: 1) Food safety: Although we have the best food supply the world has ever known, there is still opportunity for companies to improve their food safety procedures. This is clearly borne out by the recent salmonella enteritis problems in a segment of the table egg industry. 2) Waste management: Technologies for managing farm waste have to become more cost-effective and must be adopted by the industry as a whole; but, until everyone is required to adopt such technologies, they will not happen. Companies who want to adopt superior methods currently are not doing so, because the costs involved make them non-competitive with companies who do not adopt them. 3) Transparency: I believe that technology has given us a very safe and better food supply, but some groups believe that free-range or organic farming is the only safe alternative to recent problems. Organic farming is fine for a certain small segment of the population, but production of the billions and billions of broilers that are required each year to feed the world in an affordable manner will continue to require large scale poultry production. The industry must step up and address the questions and concerns that their customers have about how they are growing and feeding the birds they market to them.
BRI Blog: What would you describe as your most notable achievements at NCSU?
I am very proud of what the Poultry Science Department at NC State achieved during my tenure as its Department Head, and it is hard to choose any favorites. Some of the important achievements during my tenure included the development of the Animal and Poultry Waste Management Center, the development of a new state-of-the-art instructional feed mill, the development of a training facility for poultry processing, and a new undergraduate poultry teaching unit. We also developed excellent collaborative research ties with a number of other universities around the U.S. and around the world. All of these things came about because of the excellent group of faculty that was present in the Poultry Science Department during my tenure.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Poultry Science - Past, Present and Future, According to Dr. Jim Garlich
For this week’s blog, we interviewed Dr. Jim Garlich, professor emeritus of the NCSU Department of Poultry Science and one of BRI’s long-time Scientific Advisors. Dr. Garlich reflects on his career in poultry science and the developments and progress he has observed over the past several decades.
BRI Blog: How did you get involved in poultry science?
I was raised on a farm in Illinois and helped my Father care for a flock of breeder hens. When I entered the University of Illinois, I expressed an interest to study poultry science and was assigned to Dr. Harold Scott as my advisor. Dr. Scott was well known for developing the Connecticut “high energy” broiler formulation used by the poultry industry and he was the one that sparked my initial interest to study poultry nutrition. I completed both BS and MS degrees in Biology at the University of Illinois and subsequent to my finishing there, I went to Cornell University to obtain my PhD under Dr. M.C. Nesheim from the Cornell Graduate School of Nutrition. I joined the Dept. of Poultry Science at NCSU because the State of NC had a major poultry industry that supported the university’s programs. There I helped to establish the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Nutrition and I taught courses in amino acid and mineral metabolism.
BRI Blog: What was your research focus at NCSU?
My research focused on poultry nutrition, specifically calcium and phosphorus metabolism, as well as amino acid requirements and availability. Along the way I cooperated with other faculty members on projects involving the interactions of nutrition with heat and cold stress, with mycotoxins, bacterial and viral diseases, and cardio-pulmonary physiology (ascites syndrome in broilers), stunting syndrome, and “flushing” in turkeys. One of my more important discoveries was that a deficiency of phosphorus (P) in the diet would increase the mortality to both heat stress and cold stress (especially at high altitudes). This led to a re-definition of the P requirement and an expansion of the “margin of safety” for P in feed formulation.
BRI Blog: What do you see are the changes in poultry nutrition and health over the years?
The changes in poultry science research are a direct result of university and industry-directed research and driven by changes instituted by the industry to provide high quality, safe food products. When main frame computers started to appear on university campuses, linear programming began to be applied to feed formulation to balance and meet the chicken’s requirements for about 40 nutrients. As a result, feed quality and costs improved. This was a big advancement in feed formulation and manufacture.
Furthermore, because most of the energy and protein in animal diets are by-products (or co-products) from processing grains, oil seeds, and meat for human consumption, researchers focused on the nutrient content and availability from feedstuffs and ways to preserve these by-products. As a result, scientists started investigating enzymes (e.g., carbohydrases, phytases, proteases) as a means to improve nutrient availability from various feedstuffs.
BRI Blog: In your view, where will the advances in the poultry industry come from in the future?
In the future, advances in poultry science and production will come from two areas: 1. Research and development on the inter-relationships between poultry genetics, nutrition, immunology, microbiology, and 2. Efficiencies in production and processing. Contrary to popular opinion, increasing the scale of poultry production and processing has greatly improved the health and welfare of the birds as well as the quality and safety of our food. To increase the scale of production, modern equipment, electronics, and science and technology are widely used to produce the high quality products that consumers demand and deserve. For example, in the poultry house, automated environmental controls maintain temperature, humidity and air quality levels and prevent diseases. And in processing and distribution, modern equipment insure safe, healthy foods. Economy of scale is cost-effective. We all win.
BRI Blog: How did you get involved in poultry science?
I was raised on a farm in Illinois and helped my Father care for a flock of breeder hens. When I entered the University of Illinois, I expressed an interest to study poultry science and was assigned to Dr. Harold Scott as my advisor. Dr. Scott was well known for developing the Connecticut “high energy” broiler formulation used by the poultry industry and he was the one that sparked my initial interest to study poultry nutrition. I completed both BS and MS degrees in Biology at the University of Illinois and subsequent to my finishing there, I went to Cornell University to obtain my PhD under Dr. M.C. Nesheim from the Cornell Graduate School of Nutrition. I joined the Dept. of Poultry Science at NCSU because the State of NC had a major poultry industry that supported the university’s programs. There I helped to establish the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Nutrition and I taught courses in amino acid and mineral metabolism.
BRI Blog: What was your research focus at NCSU?
My research focused on poultry nutrition, specifically calcium and phosphorus metabolism, as well as amino acid requirements and availability. Along the way I cooperated with other faculty members on projects involving the interactions of nutrition with heat and cold stress, with mycotoxins, bacterial and viral diseases, and cardio-pulmonary physiology (ascites syndrome in broilers), stunting syndrome, and “flushing” in turkeys. One of my more important discoveries was that a deficiency of phosphorus (P) in the diet would increase the mortality to both heat stress and cold stress (especially at high altitudes). This led to a re-definition of the P requirement and an expansion of the “margin of safety” for P in feed formulation.
BRI Blog: What do you see are the changes in poultry nutrition and health over the years?
The changes in poultry science research are a direct result of university and industry-directed research and driven by changes instituted by the industry to provide high quality, safe food products. When main frame computers started to appear on university campuses, linear programming began to be applied to feed formulation to balance and meet the chicken’s requirements for about 40 nutrients. As a result, feed quality and costs improved. This was a big advancement in feed formulation and manufacture.
Furthermore, because most of the energy and protein in animal diets are by-products (or co-products) from processing grains, oil seeds, and meat for human consumption, researchers focused on the nutrient content and availability from feedstuffs and ways to preserve these by-products. As a result, scientists started investigating enzymes (e.g., carbohydrases, phytases, proteases) as a means to improve nutrient availability from various feedstuffs.
BRI Blog: In your view, where will the advances in the poultry industry come from in the future?
In the future, advances in poultry science and production will come from two areas: 1. Research and development on the inter-relationships between poultry genetics, nutrition, immunology, microbiology, and 2. Efficiencies in production and processing. Contrary to popular opinion, increasing the scale of poultry production and processing has greatly improved the health and welfare of the birds as well as the quality and safety of our food. To increase the scale of production, modern equipment, electronics, and science and technology are widely used to produce the high quality products that consumers demand and deserve. For example, in the poultry house, automated environmental controls maintain temperature, humidity and air quality levels and prevent diseases. And in processing and distribution, modern equipment insure safe, healthy foods. Economy of scale is cost-effective. We all win.
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