Langue 
An exclusive breeder seminar was held by Aviagen® Turkeys Limited (ATL) in Paris, France last month.
The event brought together B.U.T 6 and Premium customers for a series of engaging seminars. Each group enjoyed dinner at the hotel before the seminars began, giving everybody the opportunity to meet & socialise.
Presentations throughout the week covered key areas of production and management.
Clay Burrows, Managing Director opened both seminars with a market overview, highlighting current challenges in the turkey industry such as supply shortages, Avian Influenza outbreaks, and limited investment in new facilities. Despite these pressures, he noted positive trends in countries like Russia and Spain, where turkey consumption and innovation are on the rise.
Wiebke Oellrich, Company Veterinarian emphasised the importance of biosecurity in disease prevention and food safety, advocating for behaviour-based systems to strengthen farm practices.
John Ralph, Director of R&D explored breeding and genetics strategies, discussing the crucial role breeding plays in ensuring the future success of the industry. John’s presentation also covered insights to future projections and the industries competitive position moving forward explaining how we can meet needs for the Global Turkey Market along with how to adapt to industry challenges and invest in new technology.
Peter Hunt & Luke Ramsay, Management Specialists discussed optimising both female and male performance through appropriate environments, weight & feed management and light stimulation. Luke highlighted that whilst there are many important aspects of turkey production, male management is probably the most crucial. Within this he discussed the processes and techniques used in managing males and how this has a significant influence on overall flock performance. Whilst Peter spoke about achieving the genetic potential of ATL breeds, and how this was dependant on environment, as well as an effective bio-security and disease control programme. He explained that if any of the elements were sub-optimal, bird performance would then be compromised. Both presentations also covered in depth discussion on artificial insemination.
Marcus Kenny, Company Nutritionist concluded with a presentation on rearing & breeder nutrition. Marcus explained how nutrition works towards achieving objectives & the regulation of bodyweights. He also discussed managing future flocks with high growth potential, benchmarking performance and nutrition and also covered all new areas related to breeder nutrition.
Both groups enjoyed an off-site dinner after the presentations, a great opportunity to connect & continue discussions in a more relaxed setting!
The week was a great success & ATL would like to thank all the customers and colleagues who attended for making it such an informative and enjoyable meet.