With the goal to improve the poultry nutrition in Latin America, Kansas State University’s IGP Institute and USSEC hosted the Regional Animal Production Course (RAPCO) Poultry Nutrition course. The course was held May 28 to 31 and hosted 35 participants from 10 different countries.
“USSEC is one of the IGP Institute’s key partners in providing technical education regarding current trends in science and technology to international buyers of U.S. Soy,” says Carlos Campabadal, IGP Institute feed manufacturing and grain quality management outreach specialist. “The USSEC RAPCO Poultry Nutrition Course is a perfect example, where the participants learn the latest technical information to improve their company’s performance in poultry production.”
Topics discussed during the course were based on the effects of feed processing in poultry nutrition; breeder nutrition and management; growth-promoting antibiotics; problem solving within nutrition management and more. Participants also engaged in a tour of the O.H. Kruse Feed Technology Innovation Center where they experienced the operations first hand.
“This exchange of information helps us reinforce our position regarding why we use a certain type of product,” says Jose Osorio, animal nutritionist at Coopagro – Micro Feed from Panama. “They even gave us information regarding our own weather conditions and how it affects the poultry product, so we are able to do our jobs more efficiently.”
In addition to the RAPCO course, a one-day poultry and animal nutrition working group meeting was held as a part of the poultry nutrition training.
“We had the opportunity to host USSEC’s Animal Nutrition Working Group meeting with the addition of technical speakers that presented topics that enhance the benefits of utilizing U.S. Soy in animal diets to increase performance,” says Mr. Campabadal.
Topics discussed included growth promoting antibiotics, common issues and current research in the industry, the use of near infrared (NIR) in feed manufacturing, and the utilization of soy in pet food.
“We come to IGP to educate our buyers and users to optimize their formulas to utilize U.S. Soy,” says Kevin Roepke, USSEC Regional Director - Americas. “Many times, we find that users aren’t correctly valuing the nutritive advantage that U.S. Soy has, and we find that correctly doing so, they can better optimize their feed formulations, save money and use more soy to be competitive in the long run.”