USSEC recently invited a group of influential Polish commercial poultry feed and production specialists to come to the United States for a week to expand their knowledge of U.S. poultry production.
Their visit consisted of three parts. The first part was to attend the pre-IPPE scientific forum held at the Georgia World Convention Centre in Atlanta. The event hosted top U.S. and international poultry specialists, mostly from research institutions, but also including some specialists from commercial companies. Reports on research carried out at the various universities were offered either in the form of presentations or poster sessions. Both were very comprehensive and very useful for the Polish visitors who took this opportunity to update themselves with the most current scientific achievements in the industry.
The team spent the next two days touring the International Production & Processing Expo 2019 (IPPE), where they learned about the most efficient poultry genetics, farming equipment and technologies, the progress in poultry meat and egg processing, and many other aspects of the poultry business around the globe. Visiting with numerous exhibitors allowed them to renew some of their old contacts and also make new ones, especially with American businesspeople.
The USSEC luncheon held at the show allowed them to meet grower leaders and U.S. soy family staff as well as poultry specialists from many other countries. Everyone highly appreciated analyst John Baize’s introduction to the present situation and outlook to the international soybean markets that helped them to better understand what’s going on in their soy supply area.
The Polish poultry team next flew to Fayetteville, Arkansas, taking advantage of the hospitality of the Arkansas Farm Bureau and the University of Arkansas, which hosted the team for three days. Dr. Dustan Clark, Head of Poultry Extension, and his employee Dr. Sara Orlowski devoted time to the visitors, offering them a tour of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science, which included the Centre’s building, the experimental farm, UA Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
While at the poultry science center, the Polish specialists had a privilege to meet with a number of their senior researchers, namely Dr. S. Rochell (poultry nutrition), Dr. B. Hargis (vet microbiology and biom), Dr. G. Erf (immunology), Dr. S. Dridi (molecular genetics), Dr. W. Bottje (poultry physiology), to learn about the research the various teams at the center were doing and their implications for the future of poultry industry in the world.
The weeklong tour of the U.S. poultry industry and science was both successful and enjoyable. USSEC was happy to make this outstanding learning project for the leading customers of the U.S. Soy industry in Poland and northeastern Europe.