July 30 , 2014
www.gfb.org
Vol. 32 No. 30
NEW GEORGIA POULTRY LAB NETWORK FACILITY TO OPEN THIS FALL Construction of the new 38,000-square-foot home of the Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network (GPLN) is nearing completion and headed for opening this fall, according to published reports. The $13.6 million facility will replace the existing Oakwood lab in Hall County. The Oakwood lab conducts approximately 1.3 million tests annually, including more than 900,000 serum samples that are examined using robots. GPLN also has labs in Carnesville, Dalton, Forsyth and Tifton according to the organization’s website. The testing done in the GPLN labs is part of a program to monitor the state’s poultry flocks for avian influenza, salmonella, mycoplasma and other threats to poultry health and food safety. GPLN also provides chick quality assurance service and hatchery inspections for Georgia’s poultry and egg industry, which in 2012 generated $5.7 billion in farm gate value and supported 138,000 jobs according to data provided by the University of Georgia. Construction on the new facility began in May 2013, and was originally scheduled to be completed in July, but that schedule was delayed by weather and other construction issues. When complete, the new lab will feature a mezzanine level that will allow visitors to watch the serology lab robots at work. The facility will have a biosafety lab where pathogens can be contained during an outbreak of poultry-related disease. GPLN also conducts certification testing for exports. According to Georgia Poultry Federation President Mike Giles, when foreign trade officials come to Georgia to discuss poultry export/import possibilities, they want to see the labs. “The poultry lab system serves a vital role in Georgia’s poultry industry in monitoring the industry and making sure we are able to protect the health of the flock, both in broiler production and in egg production,” Giles said. “We have a world class team in place but they don’t have world-class facility. We think we’ll have the best program in the world when it is fully constructed and implemented.” In a story that appeared in the Gainesville Times, GPLN Executive Director Louis DufourZavala emphasized that while the organization’s staff is looking forward to moving into the new building, their work is continuing uninterrupted. “We’re operating at 100 percent,” Dufour-Zavala told the Times. “We’re not hurting. And we don’t have a date where it would start to hurt, either. We can’t wait (for the move), but we’re not in a dire situation.”