Terrence O'KeefeTerrence O'Keefe is content director at WATT Global Media. www.wattglobalmedia.com/contact-usFrom the Author - Page 28Egg ProductionManaging non-beak-trimmed cage-free layer flocks in AustriaAustria has a relatively small egg industry but has successfully transitioned to cage-free production with non-beak-trimmed layer flocks.Egg ProductionAlternative layer systems create new habitats for old pestsPest control experts are seeing the reemergence of grain miller's mites in alternative hen housing systems and black dump flies have started to have a negative impact in some dep-pit houses.Poultry FeedAntibiotic-free broiler production requires a paradigm shiftProducers, veterinarians andnutritionists agree that antibiotic-free broiler production in the U.S. places greater emphasis on farm management and nutrition.Processing & SlaughterEven with revision, new poultry slaughter rule is a step forwardThe Obama administration and the USDA’s FSIS deserve credit for not caving in completely to political pressure from activist groups and going forward with its modernization of poultry inspection.HomeImproved pig genetics and management for better feed efficiencyTraits such as number ofpiglets, survivability, and birth weight, the reliability of the breedingvalues has essentially been doubled by the introduction of genomic selection.Processing & SlaughterU.S. activists don’t want European style poultry inspection?Activist groups should be happy with USDA's proposed rule for modernization of poultry inspection, because it will make the U.S. system more like Europe.Egg ProductionGetting HACCP certified without leaving the layer farmAuburn University’s online course, developed specifically for egg producers, provides the opportunity to attain a certificate from the International HACCP Alliance anytime and anywhere.Egg ProductionWorking toward 500 eggs at 100 weeks of ageA prediction made by a geneticist that by 2050, laying hens would routinely lay 500 saleable eggs by 100 weeks of age with a feed conversion around 1.1 without being molted became one of the discussion points recently at Alltech’s International Poultry Forum. The audience was asked to participate in what was termed a “Yale-style debate” and the microphone moved around the room as ideas were exchanged on what steps, beyond waiting for genetic selection to work its magic, egg producers can take to work toward these bird performance goals.Egg ProductionWill ‘activist-friendly’ housing systems depress egg sales?Per capita egg sales increased in Austria through a transition out of cages to cage-free and free-range production. Will the same thing happen in California?Egg ProductionIs there a genetic solution for the male layer chick dilemma?The modern poultry industry has achieved rapid improvements in bird performance and cost reduction for egg and meat production. Some of these improvements have come because of the evolving selection and statistical techniques that have been employed, but a good deal of the progress has been realized because layer and broiler strains have been selected independently.Processing & SlaughterA tale of a further processing plant and foodborne illnessThe once highly profitable Franconia, Pennsylvania, Pilgrim's Pride further processing plant was shutdown by a listeria outbreak.Broilers & TurkeysA broiler’s gut microflora helps determine performance“The composition of the microbiota determines the long-term performance of any production system,” said Dr. Stephen Collett, associate professor, Poultry Diagnostic Research Center, University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. He explained that sometimes research into the impact of antimicrobials on bird performance isn’t really providing data that mimics what happens in modern production systems.Previous PagePage 28 of 59Next Page