AP&EA P.O. Box 240 Montgomery, AL 36101 Address Service Requested
Board of Directors
Officers Dale Gambrill, President, Snead* Tim Esslinger, Vice President, Eufaula* Harold Hunt, Treasurer, Gadsden* Kenneth Sanders, Secretary, Brundidge* Randall Ennis, Immediate Past President, Huntsville*
Directors Johnny Adcock, Woodland George Attwood, Anniston Richard Curvin, Ashland Cory Early, Albertville Dennis Gordon, Montgomery Ben Gore, Cullman Lane Holladay, Tyler Casey Jones, Hoover Heath Loyd, Decatur David Massey, Enterprise Dennis Maze, Horton Todd McMahen, Dothan Dr. Shannon Morgan, Huntsville Mitchell Pate, Auburn* Mike Pigg, Cullman John Pittard, Guntersville John Roberts, Cullman Keith Rhodarmer, Collinsville Roddy Sanders, Gordo Jason Shell, Huntsville Jason Spann, Hanceville* Jon Strange, Guntersville Ken Taylor, Anniston Ben Thompson, Huntsville Stanley Usery, Athens Ricky Walker, Snead Brad Williams, Troy David White, Russellville
Advisors Dr. Don Conner, Auburn University James Donald, Auburn University Dr. Joe Hess, Auburn University Jacob Davis, Montgomery Dr. Tony Frazier, Montgomery Diane Guthrie, Auburn *Executive Committee Members
AP&EA STAFF
Johnny Adams – Executive Director Wanda H. Linker – Administrative Director Ray Hilburn – Associate Director Huck Carroll – Communications Director/Editor Jennifer Shell – Support Director
Alabama Poultry Magazine is published by the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association 465 South Bainbridge Street Montgomery, AL 36104 Phone: 334-265-2732 Fax: 334-265-0008
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Editorial matter from sources outside AP&EA is sometimes presented for the information and interest of our members. Such material may or may not coincide with official AP&EA policy. Publication does not necessarily imply endorsement by AP&EA.
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President’s Message It is an honor and a privilege to be elected to serve you as the 2014-2015 president of the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association. I want to first congratulate Randall Ennis on an outstanding year and look forward to working with him as I take the reins as president. I want to continue working in the area of promoting the new poultry car tags so that we can raise money for scholarships for deserving poultry science students, while at the same time promoting the poultry industry. I hope to expand the 2 plus 2 program at Wallace State and expand this concept beyond this initial program. I pledge that we continue to work with Auburn University in an effort to create a new state-of-the-art poultry research farm at the new Auburn Animal Nutrition Center location. I propose that AP&EA lead a coalition of pro-business associations and pass legislation to make it a crime to seek and achieve employment for false pretenses. This would protect intellectual property as well as keep under cover activists off the farms and out of the processing plants. I want to find creative ways to grow our political influence through our grassroots and our PAC fundraising. Finally, I want to work with Commissioner McMillan on developing a state Agriculture Strategic Plan that will help expand the poultry industry in Alabama. We cannot achieve these goals without the help of our members which include allied, producers and company personnel. I appreciate your help and the confidence you have given me in electing me as your president and I pledge to work hard on your behalf Thank you!
Featuring This Issue Governmental Affairs Alabama Poultry Car Tag Association News AP&EA Annual Meeting Grower Profile: Ronnie and Elaine Reeves Auburn Happenings Practical Applications Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame Calendar of Events
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Chicken Consumption Up 17 Percent in the United States
Governmental Affairs
GREENSBORO, Ga. – More chickens are crossing the road and on to consumers’ plates, according to new research at the National Chicken Council’s Chicken Marketing Seminar in Greensboro, Ga. Overall, the average number of meals or snacks that contained chicken eaten by survey respondents in the two weeks prior to the survey was 6.1. This is up from 5.2, or 17 percent, from the 2012 findings. Millennial respondents (18-34) remain the most likely to eat chicken meals or snacks frequently (7.7). “With the tight supplies in the cattle and hog herds, and accompanying record beef and pork prices, it’s not surprising to see a double digit increase in chicken consumption this year,” said National Chicken Council Vice President of Communications Tom Super. “What is surprising to me,” Super noted, “is that health and nutrition and taste both topped cost as the reason consumers are turning more to the original white meat.”
The survey was commissioned by the National Chicken Council and conducted online by PKS Research Partners May 29-June 1, 2014 among 1,019 adults. Funding was provided by WATT Poultry USA and Elanco. In 1998 and 2006 respondents were asked if they are likely to eat more, less or about the same amount of chicken. In 2014 they were asked more specifically about likely changes in chicken consumption from a grocery store and likely change in behavior regarding a food service establishment. The 12-month outlook for the grocery segment looks promising with a net of 24 percent saying they will be eating more chicken. This is more than three times the proportion previously noted. The primary reasons for eating more chicken from a grocery store are health/nutrition (34 percent) and taste (32 percent). These are trailed by cost (17 percent). Women are somewhat more concerned than men about both health/nutrition and cost. Turning to eating out, one in five (20 percent) respondents are likely to
buy more chicken at restaurants and other food service establishments. This indicates a net gain in purchasing among 9 percent of the population. The primary reasons for eating more chicken at restaurants are taste (25 percent) and health/nutrition (24 percent). Predictably, men are more focused on the taste while women are more focused on the health/nutrition aspect. Overall, among the total sample, nine out of 10 respondents had eaten a meal or snack that contained chicken in the two-weeks prior to the survey; this is in line with the 2012 survey. Other highlights: Chicken consumption does not differ significantly by gender. Midwesterners ate the lowest number of meals or snacks that contained chicken in the two week period prior to the survey. It is the only region where the rate of consumption did not increase since 2012. Men, younger adults and those with at least three people in the household are more likely than counterparts to increase their consumption of chicken.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – “I applaud Secretary Vilsack and the food safety professionals at the Food Safety and Inspection Service for moving forward with this rule to modernize our poultry inspection system in order to improve food safety – the top priority for our industry,” said National Chicken Council President Mike Brown in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture receiving the final rule on Modernization of Poultry Slaughter Inspection from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). USDA announced that the final
rule is being sent to the Federal Register and plans to post the text on their at www.fsis.usda.gov/poultry inspection. “We look forward to reviewing the contents of the final rule and working with the department and our members on proper implementation should our members choose to opt in to the new, voluntary system,” Brown added. “Regarding line speeds: It is extremely unfortunate and disappointing that politics have trumped sound science, 15 years of food and worker
safety data and a successful pilot program with plants operating at 175 birds per minute. The rule also goes against global precedent, in which the limiting factors for line speeds are the ability to meet food safety standards, keeping workers safe, and the capability of the equipment to run effectively – not government regulations. Broiler plants in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Belgium and Germany, among others, all operate at line speeds of 200 or more birds per minute.”
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Consumers cite health/nutrition and taste as top reasons for uptick
USDA Finalizes Poultry Inspection Modernization Rule
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Association News
Blake Gibson made several presentations to poultry groups over the past two months.
Koch Foods, Ashland Complex Manager Richard Curvin and Ricky New talk.
The food line in Louisville was very popular.
Meetings, Yes, We’ve Got Meetings
Over the past two months there have been a number of local poultry & egg associations getting together for food, fellowship, and to learn to operate with more profitability. Two topics were most prevalent: good litter management and converting to natural gas. On July 30, the Clay County Poultry & Egg Association met at Miss Anita’s Restaurant in Lineville. Blake Gibson of Jones-Hamilton/PLT gave a detailed presentation on proper litter management practices. That meeting was sponsored by First South Farm Credit, Oxford. On Aug. 12, the Southeast Alabama Poultry & Egg Association met in Louisville. Shannon Jackson of the Southeast Alabama Gas District spoke on the benefits of switching from propane to natural gas. She told the audience that the Shannon Jackson was busy spreading the natcost for each mile of gas pipeline was $250,000 to $500,000. Casey Jones of L.B. ural gas message in Louisville. White Co. talked about the need for refitting gas lines when converting to natural gas. The meal was sponsored by First South Farm Credit, Ozark and Alabama Ag Credit, Dothan and Enterprise. The Randolph County Poultry & Egg Association met on Aug. 19, at the ALFA building in WeCasey Jones of L.B. White was talking refitting dowee. Blake Gibson for natural gas. of Jones-Hamilton spoke at this meeting on proper liter management. Accompanying Gibson was Dr. Trisha Johnson. She is Jones-Hamilton’s veterinarian. The meal was sponsored by First South Farm Credit of Oxford and Alabama Ag Credit of TalJones-Hamilton vet Dr. Trisha Johnson talks ladega. with Greg Daniel in Wedowee.
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Alabama Poultry Magazine
Never too young to get in the poultry spirit.
It was a great evening for families. Scholarship winners: (Left to right) Amy Burks, Heather Burks, Kitty Burks, Charlee Halligan, Austin Harvey, Christopher Harvey, Rhea Hill, Taylor Hilley, and Erica Lemaster. Congratulations, on a great job!
MCP&EA President Vic Grainger
Friday evening, Aug. 1, at Civitan Park on the shores of beautiful Lake Guntersville, the Marshall County poultry pros got together to celebrate their industry and do some fellowshipping. They also took the time to award $5,000 worth of scholarships to the kids of Marshall County poultry growers. The money for those scholarships had been raised by selling raffle tickets for a John Deere Gator (sponsored in part by Snead Ag, Snead, Ala.).
Dwight Williams gets a helper.
That’s no chicken house!
And the winner is – David Walker!
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2014 AP&EA Annual Meeting On Sunday night, July 20, the ballroom at the Sandestin Hilton was alive with laughter and good cheer as Alabama Poultry & Egg Association board members and Association sponsors and guests got together to renew friendships and celebrate our great industry. It was a great family atmosphere, with lots of folks enjoying family photos with our big chicken. The next morning, in the same ballroom, it was time to get down to business, as Association President Randall Ennis opened the meeting by recognizing sponsors, past presidents, and honored guests. One of the first announcements had to do with the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame Selection Committee’s selection of former Auburn University poultry farm manager Staley Fincher and the late Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries poultry director Pyron Keener for induction into the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame. The first speaker on the agenda was Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Commissioner John McMillan. McMillan thanked the Association for working so closely with his department. He said that he believed that, “ the state is poised to enter a golden age in Alabama agriculture, if we do the right job.” Following Commissioner McMillan, Wanda Linker led a brief and very positive critique of the 2014 “Evening of Fun,” and grower seminar. Casey Jones, Allied Committee chairman, reported on the success of the smoked chicken sale to raise money to fund the 2+2 program at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville. Kenneth Sanders, chairman of the Grower Committee, reported on the formation of new county and regional poultry associations. He reported that his committee had met before the grower seminar to work on recommendations for energy needs and water problems. Roddy Sanders, chairman of the Auburn Relations Committee, reported on continuing plans to relocate the poultry farm from its present location to the property where the feed mill is located. Following Sander’s report, advisory committee reports began with State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier
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stating that three cases of LT had recently been reported in north Alabama, despite extensive epidemiological work being done. Even so, he reported that according to a recent NPIP meeting in Charlotte, N.C., Alabama is doing much better than other states. He also reported that the state diagnostic lab has a new director, Dr. David Pugh, and now has one veterinary pathologist dedicated to poultry pathology. Frazier is also talking to the Auburn vet school about developing a poultry pathology program. Dr. Don Conner, head of the Auburn department of poultry science, congratulated Randall Ennis and Ray Hilburn on receiving Outstanding Alumni Awards from the Auburn College of Agriculture. He also reported 26 incoming poultry science students for the fall, giving the department more than 60 students. This upsurge in interest in poultry science, he says, puts a new emphasis on scholarship dollars. Jim Donald, of biosystems engineering, gave a brief report on the progress that the NPTC has made this year. He mentioned that they were assisting growers and poultry companies primarily in four areas. These are lighting, ventilation, structures, and energy auditing and usage. He also reported that Stewart Teal has been awarded the 2014-2015 Reeves scholarship in poultry engineering. Teal will be entering Auburn University this fall. The sponsorship is sponsored by Wayne and Hazel Reeves. Dr. Joe Hess presented the Alabama Cooperative Extension Systems‘ report. He cited his ongoing campaign of exposing “meat myths” to consumers and the success of the Chick-Chain project, which is now in 40 counties with more than 650 kids participating. The environmental science advisory report was presented by Bill Prince of NRCS. Prince announced that NRCS had paid for eight energy upgrades over the past year. He also announced his retirement and introduced the new state conservation engineer, Diane Guthrie. AP&EA Executive Director Johnny Adams reported that all was quiet on the legislative front with little significant legislation to report. He did report that the car tag was awaiting one more legislative committee meeting before final approval. Later that afternoon, the membership convened for the official “Annual Meeting” to elect new officers for the coming year. Association President Randall Ennis spoke briefly, thanking the board and staff for their cooperation and support. Dale Gambrill was elected president, Tim Esslinger was elected vice president, along with Harold Hunt as treasurer and Kenneth Sander as secretary. The meeting was adjourned and everyone left to get ready for the AP&EA Awards Banquet.
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Awards Banquet
The annual Awards Banquet is always one of the highlights of the AP&EA annual meeting. It combines the fun of a silent auction, live auction, good food, great fellowship, and well-earned awards for service to the poultry industry. When the ballroom doors opened, there was a large crowd poured in and surrounded the tables laid out with silent auction goodies. Pencils were soon working as bid were placed on meat smokers, Tide and Tiger paraphernalia, golf clubs, and much, much more. Soon the banquet began. Plates were piled high with delectables and
Mark Wilton also received the Distinguished Service Award for his dynamic fund-raising efforts for the Auburn feed mill.
seats were taken, even as last minute bidders went back to up their bids on those “just-have-to-have” items. Even as the last bites were being taken, although there was still a long line for the Bananas Foster, the program began. Association President Randall Ennis welcomed everyone to the banquet and introduced the new AP&EA officers for 20142015. To lead off the awards, President Ennis presented Distinguished Service Awards to Casey Jones for his outstanding work in organizing the “Evening of Fun” Golf Tournament which has raised thousands of
Lisa Fountain Hill received the Presidential Award for her efforts to assure that growers got propane gas during the propane crisis.
The Top Sales for $150 Tickets went to Christie Stockberger of Keystone Foods, Eufaula. She also picked up for Keystone Foods, Eufaula, the award for the top team based on percentage of quota sold, with 195 percent of quota. They also won an award for meeting their quota.
The Top Salesman to Broiler Growers Award, also known as the Rhonell Word Award, went to Dale Bennefield, Pilgrim’s, Guntersville. He also won the Top Rookie Award and his team made its quota.
The Top Sales to Breeder Growers Award, also known as the Harold Robinson Award, went to Barry Smith, Tyson Foods, Snead.
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AP&EA President Randall Ennis presents Casey Jones with the Distinguished Service Award.
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dollars for worthwhile projects; and to Mark Wilton for his fund-raising work on behalf of the Auburn University Animal Nutrition Center (feed mill) and other projects. The Presidential Award went to Lisa Fountain Hill, executive director of the Alabama Propane Gas Association, for her tireless efforts on behalf of poultry growers throughout the state during the winter propane crisis. Then it was time for the “Evening of Fun” ticket sales awards. Ticket Sales Chairman Dale Gambrill took his place to hand out the awards.
The Top Ticket Sales to New Purchasers The award for the team selling the most Award went to Jackie Lay, Pilgrim’s, En- tickets went to Tyson Foods, Snead. Team terprise. co-captains were Danny Hughes, Chad Wiggs, David Pruett, and Cindy Haynes. They also reached their quota. Judy Dutton accepted the awards.
Accepting the award for meeting team quota is Allied team captain, Jason Shell.
Accepting the award for meeting team quota for Koch Foods of Ashland is Richard Curvin for team captain, Connie Bryant.
Harold Hunt accepted the award for meeting team quota for Koch Foods of Gadsden for team captain, Cindy Deberry.
Roddy Sanders accepted the award for meeting team quota for Peco Foods for team captain, Mike Glass.
Other Teams Meeting Quota:
JCG of Collinsville. – team captains Sammy Beene and Terry Edmondson.
Wayne Farms, Decatur – team captain Lana Gillis
With the awards finished, AP&EA President Randall Ennis took to the podium to complete his last action as president. In his closing remarks he thanked the board members for their willingness to serve on various committees during the year. “We are coming off a good year for the poultry indus-
try,” he said and introduced incoming Association President Dale Gambrill. Gambrill thanked the Association for putting its trust in his leadership. Thanking Ennis for his outstanding leadership, he presented him with the big bronze rooster, emblematic of an AP&EA past president.
Gambrill said that he wanted to be the “closer” on a number of unfinished projects. After the speeches there was a live auction. Coupled with the proceeds from the silent auction, more than $25,000 was raised for the Association. It was a great evening.
Randall Ennis made his last speech as AP&EA president.
Randall Ennis gets the “Big Rooster.”
Dale Gambrill takes the reins of leadership.
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AP&EA announces new Executive Committee for 2014-2015. (Left to right) Tim Esslinger, vice president; Jason Spann, at-large member: Harold Hunt, treasurer; Randall Ennis, immediate past president; Dale Gambrill, president; Mitchell Pate, at-large member; and Kenneth Sanders, secretary.
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Grower Profile
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CHANCELLOR – They met on a blind date to go bowling. Someone she knew at the loan company where she worked knew someone at Ft. Rucker where he worked. Well, it seems to all have worked out pretty well for Ronnie and Elaine Reeves, now married for 47 years. For this couple, at an age when most folks are ready to kick back and take it easy, work takes on a whole different meaning. Ronnie, who retired in 2009 as the lead production and supply man at Ft. Rucker’s Lowe Field after 45 years, was responsible for a team of 17. He says that they ordered $5 to $6 million a day in helicopter parts. Raised by his grandparents on a farm in the Damascus community outside New Brockton, he is glad now to be a fulltime farmer, working with the cattle and helping out with the chickens. Elaine’s background is in finance. After her stint with a small loan company, she went to work with a local credit union, retiring in 1999. While there, and influenced by relatives in the residential building business, she got into the building and development business herself. She and Ronnie purchased a small subdivision and she put together a framing company. Unfortunately, as a novice in the business, some folks took advantage of her, but she learned and made the venture a success. Elaine is one tough gal, so tough that she worked collections for a while with a bank in Elba, so she wasn’t about to quit when the going got tough. She had been raised on the farm. Her father, who also worked at the cotton mill, was very frugal (Elaine says “tight.”) and expected the farm to be almost self-sustaining. He raised hogs and cattle and he expected his children to work on the farm. When Elaine graduated from high school, she had to get a job. There were few opportunities, either the shirt factory or cotton mill was about all that was available to a young woman. Instead, she found a job at a small loan company in Geneva, beginning her long career in finance. When she and Ronnie married, all they had was their two paychecks. They moved to Chancellor and bought some hogs, putting them on her father’s farm. Soon they had their own place and added some cattle. They got into the poultry business in the late 1970s, growing with ConAgra.When Pilgrim’s purchased ConAgra, they stayed with Pilgrim’s. They started out with four 40’x300’ houses, adding five 40’x500’ houses over the next 20 years. Elaine served as contractor for the last house, Pilgrim’s first solid sidewalled house. They are happy to be growing for Pilgrim’s. Of Pilgrim’s, Ronnie says, “They just want you to do it right. As growers, we feel that we have a big investment, well, they’ve got a tremendous investment.” He continued, “ I go along with what Ray Hilburn says, ‘If it’s not right for everyone, it’s not right for anyone.’” When she retired in 1999, Elaine spent a couple of years just working
Alabama Poultry Magazine
Elaine doesn’t spend as much time these days in her chicken houses as she once did; still she has no qualms about getting dirty. She has just upgraded several of the older houses and has plans for the others. They expect to get natural gas installed before winter, so that’s going to take some work. Elaine has also taken on the responsibility of leading the new Wiregrass Poultry & Egg Association. Asked about how she gets it all done, she replied, “Everything is about management.”
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“I go along with what Ray Hilburn says, ‘If it’s not right for everyone, it’s not right for anyone.’ It can’t be all about the growers and it can’t be all about the company.” Ronnie Reeves
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in her chicken houses. Every morning of her professional working life, whether at the bank or credit union, her mornings had begun in the chicken houses seeing to the chickens and picking up mortality, then getting her three children ready for school. Now, she was working in the chicken houses full time. After two years, she needed to get back into building. She hired someone to help her with the chicken houses, and started building again. She
Alabama Poultry Magazine
built spec homes and custom homes under contract. Currently, she is considering going into the poultry house contracting business, having done so well with her own house. She helps Ronnie with the cattle and he helps her in the chicken houses, but between the farming and building, they most enjoy spending time with their seven grandchildren. Many nights find them on the road to a ball game or some other event involving one or more of their grandkids. Elaine and Ronnie’s oldest daughter, Gwen Gilley, who owns Coldwell Banker Realty in Enterprise, has two children: Dexter, 25, who works in the realty business with his mother, while Dalton, 10, is active in sports. Second daughter, Shonda, and her husband Lee Phillips, live in Enterprise. Shonda, an Auburn accounting graduate, and her husband have two children, Walker, 15, who has just tried out for his school’s golf team and 10-year-old Sarah Kate. Their son, Ron, an engineer has his own engineering firm in Dothan. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: Alec, 19, has just entered Auburn to study architecture; Harrison, 15, a budding football and baseball player; and 13-year-old Mary Grace, who loves cheerleading. These days Elaine is as busy as ever. She is the enthusiastic president of the new Wiregrass Poultry & Egg Association, and she is getting ready to start an ambitious poultry house upgrade project, including getting ready for natural gas. All of this, plus she’ll be turning 70 in December. Asked why she keeps going so strong even though she could slow down some, she replies with enthusiasm, “Because I like it!” Wow!
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Elaine, shown here with framer, Tim Gilley, is a dynamo on the job site. Most often found in shorts and a tee shirt, she claims to be able to handle a mean hammer. Her budding architect grandson, Harrison, worked on the 6,500 sq. ft. project above this summer. It gave him a taste of why he’s glad to be in college. Maybe one day he can design homes that his grandmother might build. His ambition, for now, is to work in his dad’s firm.
“As a contractor, you’ve got to be able to straighten things out when they go wrong.” Elaine Reeves
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Auburn Happenings
Kate Meloche Wins Alltech Student Prize
Auburn University doctoral student Kate Meloche has won the Alltech Student Research Manuscript Award at the recent 2014 Poultry Science Association (PSA) meeting in Corpus Christie, Texas. Meloche, a native of Edina, Minn., got her undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota in animal science with a pre-vet emphasis. However, after a stint working with a large veterinary hospital, she realized that being a vet wasn’t really something that she wanted. Needing a job, she became and undergraduate research assistant at the poultry nutrition research center working with Dr. Sally Noll. She impressed Noll, who said, “Every few years in the lab we are able to hire a special person who works hard, is eager to learn and contributes and makes the lab better. Kate was one of those students. So we used Kate’s performance for several years as a measure of quality for new student workers. She hasn’t been totally displaced yet!” Meloche also completed two consecutive summer course programs held by the Midwest Poultry Consortium Center of Excellence at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Thoroughly committed to poultry nutrition, Meloche came to Auburn University to complete her master’s degree
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under the advisement of Dr. Bill Dozier. The focus of her work was the development and validation of prediction equations for the apparent metabolizable energy of distillers dried grains with solubles in broiler chicks. With her master’s degree completed, Meloche has embarked on her doctoral work under the continued guidance of Dozier, where she is investigating the effect of nutritional and management strategies on the development of breast meat quality defects in broiler chickens.
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Auburn Poultry Science Awards Scholarships
(Above) Alabama Poultry & Egg Association scholarship winners.
On Aug. 23, deserving poultry science students gathered to be recognized as a part of the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s 2014 Scholarship Recognition Program at the Auburn University Hotel & Dixon Conference Center. More than 50 of the 60 students enrolled in poultry science poultry science were awarded scholarships. These diligent young people represent the future of the Alabama poultry industry. They are the best and brightest of an agriculture-minded generation who realize the importance of poultry in feeding the world. But, with ever increasing university tuition costs, their scholarship dollars are stretched thinner and thinner. For that reason, we have developed the Alabama Poultry License Tag program. This program will allow you to make a tax deductible contribution to the scholarship fund and show your pride in this great industry everywhere you drive. The success of this program is up to you. For more information and an online link to reserve your tag, visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/BamaChicken.
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Dr. Steve Taylor, Auburn University biosystems engineering department, presents incoming freshman Stewart Teal of Bowdon, Ga., with the Reeves Scholarship for 20142015. The award is sponsored by Reeves Supply in honor of Hazel and Wayne Reeves.
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Practical Applications
Better Living Through Healthy Guts
Military experts have always claimed that an army marches on its stomach. I am not sure whether that is true, but superior growth and feed conversion efficiency in broilers certainly relates directly to intestinal health. Broilers have been selected to live a sedentary life, with feed in reach whenever they want it. To approach their awesome genetic potential in efficient growth and meat production, broilers must have a steady, finely-controlled house environment and must stay healthy throughout the growout. Intestinal health is particularly important to good growth and feed conversion, as broilers have been selected to eat and process feed into meat at an amazing rate. Birds have a relatively short digestive tract, and for a broiler to stay efficient, gut health must be a priority. It is important to note that 70 percent of a broiler’s immune cells are in the gut, showing that many threats enter through the digestive system, and the bird is prepared to spend some calories fighting any invaders that enter the system.
Coccidiosis The protozoal cocci organisms follow broilers around and will quickly show up wherever poultry are housed in reasonable numbers for any period of time. This bug is highly adapted to making a living in poultry intestinal cells without
J.B. Hess, J.J. Giambrone and K.S. Macklin
killing the host and ruining a good thing. For that reason, mild, subclinical infections with coccidiosis are a far greater loss to the broiler grower than is mortality. Feed grade anticoccidials and vaccine programs are both available to protect birds against severe damage from these organisms, although both generally allow cocci to exist at a low level to promote immunity through the birds’ own immune system. Companies prepare long-term plans to manage coccidiosis using the anticoccidial feed additive and vaccine programs mentioned, switching back and forth between products to keep them fresh and to avoid resistance in the cocci themselves. House conditions can also help to control cocci through ventilation and drinker management to minimize wet litter. These same techniques also reduce threats from bacteria in wet litter. Intestinal health is a major reason for the emphasis on dry litter stressed by poultry companies.
Poultry Science Department, Auburn University
Bacteria Bacteria are a normal inhabitant of broiler intestines and maintaining a healthy gut bacterial balance is important in promoting health. Wet litter (which increases bacterial and cocci numbers), feed changes and house temperatures outside of the birds’ zone of thermal neutrality can trigger changes in gut bacterial levels that favor pathogenic bugs such as the clostridia and E. coli. Bacteria can also follow intestinal damage caused by cocci which can lead to further gut damage and cause problems such as necrotic enteritis. Strong coccidiosis control programs are a major tool in maintaining intestinal bacterial health and keeping bacteria from becoming a systemic problem through intestinal damage. Public sentiment against using gut-level antibiotics to keep birds digestive tracts healthy has lead companies to reduce the use of antibiotics in broiler feeds. Experiences in Europe following similar governmental mandates have shown that intestinal problems like necrotic enteritis will be more common following the removal of antibiotics and companies will have to treat for gut health concerns more frequently than in the past. Increased use of probiotics and prebiotics may reduce this threat to some extent. Probiotics are defined bacterial mixes given to broilers in the feed or water to seed the gut with helpful bacteria, which should keep more damaging bacteria such as clostridia from multiplying. Prebiotics are feed ingredients which favor beneficial gut bacteria, allowing them to outgrow the more harmful ones. Fortunately, as our industry evolves, we will have both these product types available to help keep birds healthy as trends in antibiotic use shift. Built-up Litter Built-up litter contains large numbers of microbes of many kinds (bacteria, protozoa, etc.) Broiler litter is, in fact, a community of many different microbes of different types.
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Properly balanced microbe populations help crowd out disease organisms and breakdown bird waste products. In addition, used litter may expose broiler chicks to a wide range of organisms at low levels early in life, helping to prime the birds’ immune systems. Normal bacterial levels in litter can be achieved and maintained with good litter management techniques, which serve to manage litter moisture, ammonia levels and pH. Litter bacteria can be categorized into two large groups, those that produce spores and those that do not. Over time, bacterial dynamics tend to form predictable patterns that are reflective of the type of operation (housing, animals, environment, etc.) and the quality of management. Non-spore forming bacteria increase with the presence of animals and the accumulation of their fecal material. With time, litter bacterial levels tend to stabilize and become relatively constant as animals reach maturity, which is accompanied by stabilized gut microflora. Once stabilized, these bacterial populations tend to form ecological systems that are relatively resistant to colonization and overgrowth of bacteria which can act as human and animal pathogens. Spore forming bacteria (such as clostridia) differ from non-spore formers in that their numbers tend to increase with time. Partial or complete cleanout may be necessary if diseases associated with spore-forming bacteria become chronic in a flock or house. As mentioned earlier, litter conditions play an important role in the control of both cocci and bacteria. House techniques that keep litter dry can be a big factor in maintaining gut health. Litter reuse requires increased attention to ventilation and drinker management to maintain optimum house conditions for bird health and growth. Litter moisture must be maintained within a range that minimizes ammonia production and footpad burns while keeping dust within reasonable limits. This can be difficult with the increased costs of heating suffered by broiler producers in recent years. The increased use of electronic house controllers has significantly increased a grower’s ability to maintain a stable environment, thus improving house conditions.
some cases be neutralized by the presence of minerals.
Feed Issues Companies spend a lot of time and money testing feed ingredients for anything that might cause problems in the birds. Birds have a lot of immune tissues in their gut as a first line of defense against anything the birds eat that might cause a problem. For this reason, nutritionists exclude or limit ingredients that might affect sensitive intestinal tissues. Recent advances in the manufacture of enzymes for addition to the feed have made enzymes that break down poorly-digested feed ingredient components available for everyday use. This has been an important step in our ability to make more efficient use of our feeds, but it has also reduced the amount of undigested nutrients. Both phytase enzymes (which release phosphorus from grains) and energy-releasing enzymes are commonly used and help to keep nutrients from reaching the lower gut where they might be used by bacteria rather than the bird. One wild card in feed ingredients that is a recurring worry for poultry companies in mycotoxins. There are over 200 different mycotoxins that might show up in grains from the field and it is difficult to measure for all of them constantly. Mycotoxin levels rise and fall from crop year to crop year depending on growing conditions in the fields. Several of the mycotoxins important to poultry irritate gut tissues and reduce digestion. Companies generally monitor what mycotoxin problems are commonly coming from a certain corn growing region of the country each year before developing a strategy to keep bird from being exposed to mycotoxins at high levels. In conclusion, broilers can reach their amazing potential to grow and produce meat only if their digestive systems are kept in top form. Good on-farm health management combined with health programs provided by the integrator will get the most of the birds that provide so many farmers in our state with farm income.
Water Line Management
Proper water line management should be maintained through the use of chlorination, water acidifiers or other sanitizing chemicals. These programs must be designed to control bacterial load, while simultaneously preventing the formation of biofilms, which serve to protect bacteria from the action of sanitizing agents. Like disinfectants used on surfaces, water-sanitizing agents should be rotated to prevent the formation of resistant populations. Good water line management helps reduce the amount of bacteria that birds are exposed to and helps to maintain dry litter, which further reduces bacterial load in the house. Growers in areas of hard water should be particularly careful when using any medications, which can in
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High Windspeed for Large Birds – Practical Considerations
National Poultry Technology Center – Auburn University College of Agriculture By: Dennis Brothers, Jess Campbell, Jim Donald, and Gene Simpson
Over the past five years, we have been seeing steep increases in windspeed requirements for large birds, from about 500 feet per minute up to 750 fpm. Why has this happened? Higher windspeed dissipates more heat from these birds, resulting in better feed conversion, faster growth rate, lower mortality, and increased yields. As should be expected, achieving such a steep increase in windspeed requires significant additional investment in equipment, whether in upgrading an existing broiler house or building a new house to operate at the higher windspeeds. Further, limits imposed by the physical laws governing movement of air from one place to another become much more restrictive at such high windspeeds. As a result, meeting high windspeed requirements involves serious engineering and economic challenges. This article outlines the most important practical engineering and economic considerations growers and companies must understand in meeting high windspeed requirements – including real-world considerations as to exactly how windspeed is defined, determined or measured.
High Windspeed – Engineering Challenges
Key point: As windspeed is to be increased, the increased power required at each step goes up very steeply, and not in a one-to-one proportion. For example, increasing windspeed by, say 50 percent, from 500 fpm to 750 fpm, requires not just half again (50 percent) more energy/fan power, but at least twice as much energy/fan power. The practical effect of this physical fact is easily seen in the chart below showing actual windspeeds measured in an empty16-fan tunnel house with six fans running and then as additional fans are turned on one by one. This is a welldesigned house with identical 54-inch high-capacity fans (except for fan #1, a 48-inch), so you might expect windspeed in fpm to go up the same amount as each additional fan is turned on. But this is not what happens. Instead, the fpm gain per additional fan (at the feed line) drops from 68 fpm as fan #7 is turned on to only 35 fpm additional windspeed as fan #16 is turned on.
Real-world measurements in an actual broiler house show how physical laws of diminishing returns limit our ability to increase wind-speed. Additional fans do not provide the same windspeed increase. Adding fan #7 gives a 68 fpm increase (+24 percent); adding fan #16 gives only 35 fpm additional windspeed (+5 percent). Adding fan #7 gives a 68 fpm increase (+24 percent); adding fan #16 gives only35 fpm additional windspeed (+5 percent).
Understanding why additional fans do not provide the same windspeed increases requires recognition of another key point: A fan’s “capacity” in cfm (and therefore also in fpm of windspeed) depends entirely on the static pressure the fan is working against. That is, a fan’s cfm “rating” applies only for one stated static pressure. The higher the static pressure, the lower the cfm & fpm will be. That static pressure of course is created by the fan(s), and a higher pressure difference is required to generate higher windspeed. We add fan-power to increase the static pressure and get the higher windspeed, but at each step, each fan’s resulting cfm/fpm performance drops. At 0.05 sp (what we see in the chart above, at about 8 fans running), the fans in the example house are rated to produce 30,800 cfm. At 0.15 sp (15 fans running) the rated capacity is only 26,800 cfm. The loss in cfm/fpm at higher static pressures happens because achieving – and working against – the higher static
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pressure involves a cost in fan rpm. Small losses in rpm cause large losses in cfm/fpm. The following table shows the complete BESS Lab test results for our example 54-inch butterfly shutter house fans: Almost all manufacturers send fans to the BESS Lab at the University of Illinois for testing. As these test results show, operating a fan at higher pressures causes dramatic losses in airflow (cfm) and in electrical efficiency (cfm/watt). Many fans that were acceptable for the pressure ranges needed in 500 fpm houses are not nearly as efficient at the operational pressures of 0.15 and above that are typically needed in 750 fpm houses.
Clearly, we are experiencing the law of diminishing returns. If on average it took 10 48-inch fans to achieve an average 500 fpm in a tunnel house, one might think 750 fpm could be achieved with 15 of the same fans if the appropriate amount of cool cell and tunnel inlet were added. This is an incorrect assumption. Because of the increased pressure requirements on all fans and the resulting decreased airflow of each existing fan, it could take as many as 17-18 of the original fans to achieve the 750 fpm requirement. As the BESS Lab testing results for the fans in our example show, these fans’ output drops from 28,900 cfm at 0.10 sp to 26,800 cfm at 0.15 sp and 24,600 cfm at 0.020. The fan’s operating efficiency – another important factor in grower costs – drops from 19.4 cfm/watt at 0.10 sp to 17.0 cfm/watt at 0.15 sp and only 14.9 at 0.20 sp. The truth is that many fans that were acceptable for the static pressure ranges needed in 500 fpm houses are not nearly as efficient at the operational pressures of 0.15 and above that are typically needed in 750 fpm houses. What is the take-home point from this example? Sometimes older fans should be replaced so that the whole fan array operates well at higher static pressure levels. In all cases, whether replacing all or simply adding additional fans, the new fans should be ones that operate more efficiently at higher pressures, such as 0.15 or above.
Could adding inlet/pad area be a simple way to resolve the high windspeed engineering challenge?
Many people think additional pad area would reduce the static pressure fans have to work against, and so be a way to avoid having to add too many more fans, or having to replace existing fans with higher-cfm rating fans. This was the case in “the old days” when windspeed was 400-500 fpm and as much as two-thirds of the static pressure load was determined by the size of the inlet area. This may still be the case in houses that are experiencing inlet restrictions. However, if the inlet area is not restricted by such things as curtains being in the way or tunnel doors not opening enough, once we get to 600 fpm and try to go even higher, most of the static pressure load is created by having to physically force considerably more air through the “tunnel” of the tunnel house. Field testing in otherwise properly constructed high windspeed houses (600 fpm and above) has shown that even opening the house front doors would produce little or no increase in windspeed. We still need inlet and pad area appropriate to the installed fan capacity; but adding extra pad area to a well-designed house may actually result in a net loss, with the extra installation and maintenance costs producing no significant increase in windspeed, but hurting flock performance by making an even larger dead spot in the front end of the house. This is another reason why, from an engineering standpoint, the law of diminishing returns puts a definite practical limit on achieving higher and higher windspeeds. As one industry veteran recently said, “there is just so much sausage you can stuff into a casing, and a bigger funnel won’t help.”
High Windspeed – Real-World Measurement Challenges
What is the definition of a 600 fpm or 750 fpm house? When a company specifies that a desired windspeed is needed on a given poultry house, it is very important to know how achieving that windspeed will be determined. If it is to be determined by actual in-house measurements, we must know exactly where and how that windspeed will be measured, and all parties must understand what the measurement is actually telling them. A house’s design windspeed is determined by a calculation, rather than by measurement. Taking the total in-
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stalled fan rated cfm at the design static pressure and dividing by the cross-section area of the house gives a feet-perminute number that will correspond to the expected overall average windspeed through the house. For example: • 13 fans rated at 22,000 cfm at 0.20 sp = 286,000 total cfm • 40-ft wide house with 8 ft sidewall and 11 ft peak = (8+11)/2 X 40 = 380 sq ft cross-section area • Design windspeed = 286,000 cfm divided by 380 sq ft = 752.6 fpm
A house design windspeed number is useful – this is the way poultry houses are designed, after all – but it is not likely to match exactly to real-world field measurements, or to what is important to the birds, for two reasons: 1. Fan cfm ratings typically are derived from BESS Lab tests of brand-new fans under ideal conditions, and these are given as plus or minus 5 percent; in addition, actual installed fan cfm’s will vary, usually downward, depending on age, maintenance conditions, and placement in the house. 2. Real-world as-measured windspeeds will be different, often very different, depending on exactly where and how measurements are taken. The following diagrams show how this plays out with different measurement patterns: Center of House – Likely to be higher than design fpm
Three-Point Average at Bird Level – Likely to be lower than design fpm
Six-Point Average – Likely to be higher than Bird Level, lower than design fpm
Cross-Section Traverse – Likely to correspond most closely to design fpm
Company requirements for measured windspeed vary, some as simple as the Center of House pattern above, taking one reading in the center of the house 5 feet above the floor, 100 feet from the fan end. It might be an instantaneous reading or it might be obtained by allowing the wind meter to measure the average air velocity for a period of time (often 1 minute). Some companies require three readings, 3 feet above the floor (one reading between feed and water lines on each side of the house, and one reading in the house center). Other companies may require six readings (three at 3 feet above the floor and three at 5 feet above the floor, between feed and water lines and in the center, 100 feet from the fan end). These multiple readings are averaged together to arrive at a single composite windspeed value for the house. Most wind meters have averaging, max-speed, and current speed modes. It is important to understand the value and the differences of these modes. Also all should be aware that windspeed meter readings may vary as much as +/- 3 percent. Where and how the sample is taken, then, is critically important. In addition, in-house conditions, with or without birds, equipment up or down, etc., all affect the results. In considering either retrofitting an old house or building a new house to meet high windspeed requirements, it is very important that the grower and any design consultant understand the relationship between design and real-world windspeed, and how any particular measurement pattern or procedure that is to be followed will affect the design. For example, in the above example house with a goal of 750 fpm, using 13 fans rated at 22,000 cfm each, based on the BESS Lab data for the fans, the +/- 5 percent factor means you might see anywhere from 710 to 790 fpm overall average house windspeed. If you measure at a single point in center of house 5 feet off the floor you will see higher velocity, likely in the 800-900 fpm range, depending on sidewall geometry, knee braces, deflectors, equipment, birds/no birds, etc. If you average three points 3 feet off the litter you will most likely see lower velocity, likely in the 600-700 fpm range, again depending on the side wall geometry, knee braces, deflectors, equipment, birds/no birds. The take-home point: There may be no perfect method to take in-field windspeed measurements. The methods outlined here are typical. There may be others that work as well or better. It must be understood that in any case, field measured wind speed and the design wind speed derived from the calculations above will always differ, depending on chosen measuring procedures and in-house conditions. These effects must be kept in mind when deciding on what the design wind speed should be for any retrofit or new house design. Whatever method is used, it is important to strive for
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a repeatable, consistent technique and to understand what the gathered measurement numbers mean and how they relate to calculated design numbers as outlined above.
High Windspeed – Economic Challenges
What are the economic challenges of trying to achieve higher windspeeds, from both a grower and company standpoint? The critical questions which must be answered by both growers and companies are: 1) What are the investment and operating costs, and can they be recouped within a reasonable time frame? 2) Given the age and condition of the house, pay rates, and placement densities, does this represent a good business decision? Following is an outline of the most important factors to be considered: Definite Added Investment Costs
Added Operating Costs
1) Additional fans, installation & wiring
1) Additional annual electrical usage (kWH) of fans
2) Additional cool cells, installation & wiring
2) Additional annual water expense associated with larger cool cells
3) Interest on additional borrowed capital
Potential Added Investment Costs
Revenue Sources
1) Resizing of electrical breaker box
1) Increased pay rate
2) Resizing wires to each house from main farm service
2) Increased poundage from improved placement density
3) Increasing generator size or capacity
3) Increased poundage from improved performance
4) Increasing water line capacity 5) Increasing capacity of power utility transformer
The Bottom Line
As a case example, if we look at a typical 8-10 year old 40’ x 500’ solid wall house with 10 48-inch fans, we would have approximately 231,000 cfm and 608 fpm design windspeed at a 0.10 sp. If we add five more of those same 48inch fans, we will have 286,500 cfm and 754 fpm at a 0.20 sp. That five-fan increase of 150 fpm would only gain us 55,500 more cfm and an average of only 30 fpm increase per fan, yet cost around $5,000 and increase the power bill by $225/1,000 hours of operation. Alternatively, we might add only three 54-inch fans to achieve the same 750 fpm, but their cost would still approach $5,000 and the power bill would go up by about the same amount. In either case, a $2,500 cool cell addition would be required. Therefore the cost of increasing windspeed from 600 to 750 fpm would be at least $7,500. In any case a grower considering higher windspeed must carefully weigh the additional investment costs against projected increased income from possible increased pay rate, pounds produced and/or placement density. Only after estimating these figures can a smart business decision be made. From an industry standpoint, the facts of increasing costs with diminishing returns using current air-moving technology combined with today’s placement densities suggests that new technology needs to emerge if design windspeeds increase above 750 fpm.
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Poultry Hall of Fame Names Two
Pyron Keener
Staley Fincher
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The Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame Selection Committee has announced the names of two distinguished poultrymen for induction into the Alabama Hall of Fame. Pyron Keener, longtime director of the poultry division of the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, is the posthumous inductee. Keener, a 1945 agricultural science graduate from Auburn University, started his career with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries that same year as a poultry inspector. He was promoted to senior poultry inspector, chief poultry inspector, poultry inspection supervisor and he served as director of the poultry division until his retirement on January 31, 1986. During his 41-year career with the poultry division, he helped write the Alabama Baby Chick Law and served on the committee that drafted the Alabama Shell Egg Law. He also served on the committee that founded the Alabama Poultry Industry Association, now known as the Alabama Poultry & Egg Association. His induction ceremony will be held at the AP&EA office on Sept. 29, at 2 p.m. After earning his poultry science degree from Auburn in 1955, Staley Fincher went to work on the Auburn University poultry farm, becoming assistant foreman a year later. With the retirement of farm superintendent James Belcher in 1958, Fincher was named to replace him in that position. He served in that capacity until his retirement in January of 1993. During that time he served as a valued member of the research, teaching, and extension team. He assisted with many of the research projects that have had a significant impact on the poultry industry. Through his tenure at the research farm, Fincher touched many lives. His nomination letters are filled with personal anecdotes and reminiscences of how he impacted the lives of his students. Mitchell Pate, the current director of the Poultry Research Unit/Extension Center wrote, “During the time I spent working for him he instilled in me the values of hard work and dedication that still has an impact on me to this day. His influence helped to mold the lives of many other students as well.” Plans for Fincher’s induction ceremony are still being planned.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS Allied Fund-Raising Golf Tournament
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5 31 18 20 8 9 7 25 2 29 32 23
Thursday, October 23, 2014 Chesley Oaks Golf Course, Cullman
Alabama Poultry Industry Workshop November 11-12, 2014 Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center
County Association Meetings Wiregrass Poultry & Egg Association Tuesday, September 23, 2014 6:30 p.m., Granny’s Restaurant, Kinston
Central Alabama Poultry & Egg Association Tuesday, September 30, 2014 6:30 p.m., Beeland Park, Greenville
Randolph County Poultry & Egg Association Tuesday, October 28, 2014 6:30 p.m., Lakeside Marina, Wedowee
Alabama Poultry Magazine