WPSA Newsletter

Newsletter Editor: Dr G.B. Havenstein
gerald_havenstein@ncsu.edu

Report from the President
With the World’s Poultry Congress behind us we can now look forward to an exciting and challenging four years with the new Board prior to the 24th World’s Poultry Congress in Brazil in 2012. Hopefully we will be able to look back then with a sense of achievement over our four years in office.
In the brief period since the Brisbane Congress, there have been a number of developments that I would like to share with you........... Read more

Report from the Office of the General Secretariat
Dr Valentina Ferrante (Italy), a member of the European Federation’s Working Group 9 (Bird Welfare), represented WPSA at the FAO Open Forum on Capacity Building to Implement Good Animal Welfare Practices on 29 September 2008 in Rome............ Read more

Report from the Office of the Treasurer
WPSA is continuing its partnership with the National Agricultural Library (NAL) in Beltsville, Maryland. The NAL is an important unit of the United States Department of Agriculture. NAL has one of the largest agricultural collections in the world and is of one of four national libraries in the United States. For many years, the NAL has offered WPSA the service of professionally archiving Association records in its very secure and environmentally controlled Special Collections division............. Read more

Asian Pacific Federation
The Asian Pacific Federation is in the process of developing its second working group, on waterfowl. Waterfowl comprise several very important commercial species in the region, particularly ducks in South East Asia. An interim leadership team is currently being set up, headed by Dr Zhendan Shi from the South China Agricultural University.............. Read more

European Federation
The European Federation has planned a number of conferences between now and the end of 2009. The conferences are listed at the end of this Newsletter and contact information is available on the WPSA website (www.wpsa.com). News from a number of the Federation’s working groups are provided below............... Read more

WPSA Speakers' Bureau - New Application Form
During the 34th meeting of the Board of WPSA on August 20, 2000 in Montreal, Canada it was recognised that branches in low income countries often do not have sufficient financial resources to fund overseas speakers, and furthermore, expert speakers on certain topics are not always readily available in these countries................ Read more

WPSA Travel Grant Programme
It is generally agreed that enhancing the educational, research and experience opportunities of young poultry science professional and technical people is critical to the pace of development of more efficient poultry production, regardless of whether they are part of an intensive technological industry or they are involved in small-scale, family production systems.......... Read more

WPSA Branch News

Australia France Germany

Hungary Japan Lebanon

Malaysia South Africa Sri Lanka

Turkey USA

WPSA Sponsored and other poultry related Symposia and Conferences

With the World’s Poultry Congress behind us we can now look forward to an exciting and challenging four years with the new Board prior to the 24th World’s Poultry Congress in Brazil in 2012. Hopefully we will be able to look back then with a sense of achievement over our four years in office.

In the brief period since the Brisbane Congress, there have been a number of developments that I would like to share with you.

• Under the constitution, Dr Piet Simons’ position as Secretary finishes at the end of this year, when he hands over this role to Dr Roel Mulder. Piet has made an outstanding contribution to the Association over many years as President from 1992 to 1996 and following that as Secretary since 1996. He leaves the Association in a much healthier state, organisationally and financially, than when he commenced his presidency in 1992. We are greatly in his debt.

• One of the very important activities of the Secretary has been to generate and retain sponsorship and advertising in the World’s Poultry Science Journal. Piet has been particularly effective in this role and he has kindly agreed as Honorary Past President, to facilitate the transfer of this function to Roel through advice and introductions to current and potential sponsors and advertisers at major poultry events prior to the next Board meeting.

• It has become evident that there are a number of areas of the constitution that need to be changed to meet the current needs of the members of the Association. A working group within the Board has been established to develop proposals for change, and following the development of a draft set of changes by the working group and ratification of the agreed final draft by the Board, the proposed changes will be sent out to the Councillors for voting.

• To facilitate proper consideration of this and of other non-constitutional arrangements affecting the operations of the Board, it has been agreed to hold a workshop of the Board prior to the annual Board meeting set to coincide with the 17th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition in Edinburgh from 23-27 August 2009.

• The Board has approved support for the preparation of a handbook on poultry production by the Nepal WPSA branch, with a specific focus on relevant production issues in that part of the world. Board members will act as reviewers for sections of the manual relevant to their expertise.

• Following the very successful session stream on Poultry Production in Developing Countries at WPC2008, some 15 invited papers presented in the various sessions in this stream will be published in a special edition of WPSJ in June 2009. This will constitute a valuable body of published work on a wide range of topics associated with small-scale family poultry farming.

• Associated with this, following a workshop at the Congress, WPSA is currently in discussion with GTZ from Germany in developing a trans-African small-scale family poultry farming project proposal for donor funding.

I look forward to the challenges ahead of us and together with the Board we will do our best to ensure that WPSA continues to contribute effectively to the global poultry industry and poultry science community through support under our banners of education, organisation and research. As mentioned in the last Newsletter, I am keen to see WPSA play a increasingly significant role in helping to alleviate poverty in developing countries; in rural communities through support for small-scale family poultry production, and in urban and peri-urban communities through support for appropriate sustainable commercial production. The need is great, particularly at this time of the burgeoning food, HPAI and financial crises.

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• Dr Valentina Ferrante (Italy), a member of the European Federation’s Working Group 9 (Bird Welfare), represented WPSA at the FAO Open Forum on Capacity Building to Implement Good Animal Welfare Practices on 29 September 2008 in Rome.

• Past President Rüveyde Akbay participated in the 9th Ukrainian Poultry Conference in Alusta, Crimea held 15-18 September 2008. There were 320 participants from 13 countries (mainly Eastern European) and 36 presentations. Rüveyde especially promoted WPC2012.

• To promote the Association and to facilitate journal sponsorship and/or branch development, WPSA Board officers have represented the Association at a number of meetings since the Congress. Piet Simons participated in the 3rd AMEVEA Poultry Seminar in Argentina (10-12 September 2008) which was held in cooperation with the Argentinean Branch of WPSA. Dr John Blake (Auburn University, USA) was invited to provide a lecture as a member of the WPSA’s Speakers’ Bureau. There were approximately 350 participants, mostly from Argentina, but also from other Latin American countries. Dr Simons presented a paper on “Global Production, Consumption and the International Market for Poultry Meat and Eggs”. Piet Simons also visited China from 17-24 October 2008 (VIV). He visited with Professor Ning Yang, one of the new WPSA Vice Presidents, and met people from the poultry industry and government in China. WPSA had a booth at VIV China, and we are trying to get more members of WPSA in China, and he was attempting to get some Chinese companies to be advertisers in the World Poultry Science Journal.

• WPSA is finalizing the formation of a new Branch in Algeria. Piet Simons began discussions about forming a new Branch with representatives of Algeria during the Mediterranean Summit in Greece earlier this year.

• The transformation of the Waterfowl Working Group from the European Federation of WPSA to the Asian Pacific Federation of WPSA has been finalized.

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WPSA Document Archives – National Agricultural Library
WPSA Publications Available On-line

WPSA is continuing its partnership with the National Agricultural Library (NAL) in Beltsville, Maryland. The NAL is an important unit of the United States Department of Agriculture. NAL has one of the largest agricultural collections in the world and is of one of four national libraries in the United States. For many years, the NAL has offered WPSA the service of professionally archiving Association records in its very secure and environmentally controlled Special Collections division.
The original WPSA materials were hand catalogued by dedicated WPSA volunteers. In recent years your Treasurer and the incoming WPSA Secretary have worked with NAL librarians to archive and digitize the publications of the Association. The Proceedings of the World Poultry Congresses 1-XX and the International Review of Poultry Science (1928-1940) are available on the NAL’s site.
Members can easily locate the material by following the instructions at www.wpsa.com. On the home page, click on “Proceedings.” From there you will follow the instructions at “How to Access the World’s Poultry Congresses.” You will be directed to the Table of Contents. Scroll down to “World’s Poultry Science Association Publications.” From there you can select either the Congress Proceedings or the International Review of Poultry Science.
The NAL system will allow you to search any of the documents. You may search for either names or keywords. This service is a valuable one for members conducting literature reviews and/or those interested in reviewing the oldest literature of our Association. The International Review predated the current World’s Poultry Science Journal.

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The Asian Pacific Federation is in the process of developing its second working group, on waterfowl. Waterfowl comprise several very important commercial species in the region, particularly ducks in South East Asia. An interim leadership team is currently being set up, headed by Dr Zhendan Shi from the South China Agricultural University.

The Indian branch of WPSA will host the 4th World Waterfowl Conference on November 11-13, 2009. The conference will be held in Thrissur in South West India. The first announcement for the conference will be published very soon.

Mr Alan Gibbins, President of the Asian Pacific Federation, recently visited Guangzhou in Southern China to attend a seminar on Quality Chicken Breeding. "Quality" chickens are defined as local breeds which are slow growing meat birds. They are highly prized in the region for their taste. Breeding techniques and meat quality were two of the topics discussed.

The next Asian Pacific Poultry Conference will be held in Taiwan in 2010.

Professor Ning Yang elected to WPSA Board: During the Councillor’s Meeting at the World’s Poultry Congress in Brisbane, Prof Ning Yang from Beijing, China was elected to the Board of WPSA. This is good news for the APF as it will increase Asian perspective to deliberations of the WPSA Board .

Also in Brisbane, the China Branch won the right to host the 2016 World’s Poultry Congress. The Chinese promised an excellent venue for that Congress, and that it will be held with a reasonable cost for delegates.

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The European Federation has planned a number of conferences between now and the end of 2009. The conferences are listed at the end of this Newsletter and contact information is available on the WPSA website (www.wpsa.com). News from a number of the Federation’s working groups are provided below.

WPSA European Working Group News

WG1: The 2nd European Round Table on Poultry Economics and Marketing will be held in Antwerp, Belgium on October 1-2, 2009. For information contact the chairman of WG1 Peter van Horne at peter.vanhorne@wur.nl.

WG2: 17th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition: The UK Branch in co-operation with the WPSA Working Group 2 (Nutrition) is organising the 17th Symposium in the series of the ESPN. This event is always popular with nutritionists throughout the world and the previous Symposium, in Strasbourg, France, attracted over 450 delegates from more than 40 countries. The next Symposium will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, from 23rd to 27th August 2009. An exciting and topical scientific programme for the Symposium has been drawn up and speakers are being invited. The timing of the Symposium coincides with the Edinburgh International Festival and its associated events such as the Fringe Festival and the Military Tattoo. The city is a very lively place at this time and attracts large numbers of visitors. So delegates, outside the period of the Symposium of course (!), would have ample opportunity for an enjoyable visit to Edinburgh and Scotland. As part of the Symposium events, those delegates registering early will be offered an opportunity to attend the world-famous Tattoo, held on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle. The organising committee for the Symposium is therefore looking forward to welcoming another large number of delegates to this ESPN. Further details of the Symposium are appearing on the website www.espn2009.com.

WG3: Working Group 3’s business meeting was held during the WPC2008 on 3 July 2008. The main topic of discussion was the next European Poultry Genetics Symposium. The Polish Branch will host the Symposium which will be held in Bedlewo near Poznan, Poland, from September 30th to October 2nd, 2009. The following topics and chairs were decided: Genetics of egg quality (chair: Ian Dunn, co-chair: NN); Optimal use of molecular markers (chair: Michele Tixier-Boichard, co-chair: NN); Measures of promoting poultry genetic diversity (chair: Martino Cassandro, co-chair: Steffen Weigend); Industry session (chair: Rudolf Preisinger, co-chair: NN); Poster session (chair: Paul Hocking)
Please mark the above date in your calendar. Your ideas and suggestions for the symposium are very welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact Steffen Weigend at any time (weigend@tzv.fal.de).

WG6: Report on the Incubation & Fertility Research Group Meeting: 3rd-4th September 2008 at Moorfield’s Hospital, London, UK: The 33rd meeting of the Incubation & Fertility Research Group (WPSA Working Group 6) was held at the Moorfield’s Hospital Clinical Tutorial Complex, the City of London, UK. Thus, we reverted to our usual pattern of a September annual meeting after Glasgow in July 2007. Nearly thirty delegates attended this enjoyable and successful meeting, with participants from eight different countries (from as far a field as Italy, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Israel and Jordan). As always there was a wide-ranging programme held over the two days. The highlight of the first day was the keynote presentation by Amos Ar, Tel Aviv University, Israel. His presentation Improving hatchability by a special egg coating demonstrated that by the application of an inexpensive treatment the proportion of high conductance eggs was substantially reduced – probably due to sealing micro-cracks in the shell. This was an excellent example of basic science applied to the benefit of the industry. We were also fortunate to have Silvia Cerolini, University of Milan, to lead a fertility session reviewing her work on sperm cryopreservation in a variety of poultry. There was also a fertility poster session. For the first time, the meeting dedicated a session to nutrition with contributions from Andrew Ball (UK) on The role of carotenoids in breeding poultry; Mariane Debonne (Belgium) on the Effect of dietary lysine, linoleic acid and vitamin B of broiler breeders on embryonic growth, hatching parameters and post hatch performance of their progeny; Okan Elibol (Turkey) on the Effect of broiler breeder female feeder space during the laying period on egg production and percentage floor eggs; and by Amir Ghane (Canada) on Egg size and stage of lay effects: The effects of early feeding on poult feeding behaviour. On the second day the focus was on incubation only with thought-provoking presentations by Charles Deeming (UK) on Egg size and embryonic growth: a hypothesis; and by Anouk Witters (Belgium) on The effects of high CO2 on embryonic development.
With the usual mix of researchers and commercial participants there were some lively discussions over refreshments and during the conference dinner held on the evening of the 3rd in a nearby Greek restaurant. The participants at the business meeting decided that the 2009 meeting would be held in central England, possibly Cambridge, in the first week of September. Dr Victoria Hurst of Bernard Matthews Ltd, this year’s able organiser agreed to organise again. Full details of the 2009 meeting, and a report of the 2008 programme, will be posted at www.ifrg.org.

WG9: Details of the Poultry Welfare and Management Working Group’s aims and objectives can be viewed at www.wpsa.com. WG9 currently has 35 members from 20 countries in Europe. Its next meeting will be held in Oslo on January 21-22, 2009. A main item on the agenda there will be the final arrangements for the 8th WPSA European Symposium on Poultry Welfare – see below. Early registration for this event is advised; the deadline is February 15th 2009 for preferential rates. Full details are available at www.wpsa.it/cervia2009.

WG9 recently formed 2 specialist action groups. One on research into welfare and management aspects of furnished laying cages has 7 members, and is already active. This group has held meetings in Brussels and Stuttgart during the past few months. The other, which is on contact dermatitis in broilers, is at a formative stage.

WG10: The Turkey Production Working Group will be sponsoring the 5th International Symposium on Turkey Production in Berlin, Germany, on 28 – 30 May 2009. Contact: Prof Dr H.M. Hafez, Institute of Poultry Diseases, Königsweg 63, 14163 Berlin, Germany, Phone: +49 30-83862677; Fax: +49 30-83862690; E-mail: hafez@vetmed.fu-berlin.de.

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During the 34th meeting of the Board of WPSA on August 20, 2000 in Montreal, Canada it was recognised that branches in low income countries often do not have sufficient financial resources to fund overseas speakers, and furthermore, expert speakers on certain topics are not always readily available in these countries.
So the Board decided to create a Speakers’ Bureau to assist branches in low income countries to cover the travel costs of expert international speakers. This measure is consistent with the key objective of WPSA to encourage and help facilitate liaison among research scientists and educators, and between those in research and education and those working in the many diverse sectors of the poultry industry. Under the Speakers’ Bureau scheme, WPSA will pay only the cost of air travel (lowest economy class). Local expenses like accommodation are to be paid for by the local organizing branch. WPSA will not pay any honorarium to speakers.
The Speakers’ Bureau is an expensive initiative and it is important that optimum value be obtained from the money spent on travel. This can be achieved by insisting that the visiting speaker provides more than just one paper at a conference. The visiting speaker could contribute in a variety of ways, e.g., present a second paper on a related topic, conduct a workshop for graduate students, have small group or one-on-one interaction, especially with students, visit industry groups, visit university groups, etc.
Unless the Branch (or group of Branches) can pay all the speakers’ costs itself, a speaker should NOT be invited until approval of Speakers’ Bureau funds is made by the WPSA Executive Committee.

Application conditions

• Application must be made using the WPSA Speakers Bureau application form. (The application form is available on the WPSA website www.wpsa.com.)
• Application must be submitted at least 2 months prior to the meeting.
• The speaker must be a member of WPSA for at least 1 year at the time of application.
• The speaker must contribute more to the meeting than just presenting one paper.
• The speaker will be paid by the WPSA Treasurer and not by the local Branch.
• There is a maximum of 2 sponsored speakers from the Speakers’ Bureau per meeting.

The completed application form should be sent by e-mail to wpsa@xs4all.nl or by fax to: +31 207 508 941.
If you do not have access to e-mail or fax you can send your application to: WPSA, PO Box 31, 7360 AA, Beekbergen, THE NETHERLANDS

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Providing travel assistance for young WPSA members and students to participate in regional and global WPSA conferences

It is generally agreed that enhancing the educational, research and experience opportunities of young poultry science professional and technical people is critical to the pace of development of more efficient poultry production, whether it is in an intensive technological industry or in small scale, family production systems. It should also be stressed that any travel assistance we can provide should be independent of and in addition to that currently provided by World's Poultry Congresses, Regional Conferences or individual Branches. It should target and benefit additional students and young members, including young poultry producers from developing countries and students from developed countries. A scheme of open competition for such WPSA Travel Scholarships is now available. Applicants must be a member of WPSA for at least half a year before they can apply for a Travel Grant. Applications must be accompanied by a short CV.

Deadline: You must submit your application at least 3 months prior to the meeting.

Application form: Full details and the application forms can be obtained from the WPSA General Secretary’s Office or you can download the application form from the WPSA website (www.wpsa.com). 

Send the application form (preferably by e-mail) accompanied by a letter of recommendation from a well-known member of your local WPSA Branch to the General Secretary of WPSA, Dr Roel Mulder, PO Box 31, 7360 AA Beekbergen, The Netherlands, e-mail: wpsa@xs4all.nl or roel.mulder@wpsa.com, fax: +31 207 508 941.

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The digital archive for the World’s Poultry Science journal provides access from the first issue in 1945 until 2003 online - a total of 240 issues!
Volumes 1 - 59 of World's Poultry Science Journal are now available on Cambridge Journals Online. The archive is fully searchable by keyword and author; abstracts can be saved and emailed, full text articles printed and bibliographic details exported into reference management software. Perpetual Access is available for a one-off fee of just £500/$995*.
For further information, or to purchase the WPSJ Digital Archive, please email jnlsales@cambridge.org.

*For those who do not subscribe to the current volume, there is an additional annual maintenance fee of £45/$85, payable from the second year of the deal. www.journals.cambridge.org/WPS.

The Digital Archive is primarily designed for University libraries, companies etc. (not for individual WPSA members, unless they are willing to pay the subscription price!). Individual members located at universities or companies, if their library or company has subscribed, may access it through their organization. .

WPSA Branch News

Australia: The Australian Branch will be hosting the 20th Australian Poultry Science Symposium at the University of Sydney from 9-11 February 2009. Contact is Mrs. Jo-Ann Geist: j.geist@usyd.edu.au.

France: The French Branch will serve as one of the co-sponsors of the 8th Avian French Research Days meeting that will be held on March 25th and 26th, 2009 in St Maio, France. This French Congress is organized by ITAVI, INRA, and AFSSA, with the support of the French braches of WPSA and WVPA. Sessions will be held on Economics and Outlooks; Breeding Systems and Sustainability; Raw Materials, Feeds and Nutrition; Pathology and Prevention; Hygiene and Food Quality; and Genetics, Selection and Reproduction. Contact: Angélique TRAVEL ITAVI - Unité de Recherches Avicoles – BP , 37380 NOUZILLY – Télephone +33 (0)2.47.42.76.84; E-Mail: secretariatJRA@journees-de-la-recherche.org.

Germany: Members of the German Branch are looking forward to seeing many international and national visitors during the EuroTier 2008 Fair and World Poultry Show in Hanover between 11th – 14th of November this year, most likely in Hall 11 as speakers during a concurrent "Poultry Forum" (with simultaneous German-English translation) or helping to staff the WPSA booth (F38).
One of the hottest issues during EuroTier will be the imminent ban on conventional cages and the question of how egg producers and the egg trade will deal with it. The German WPSA Branch is determined to support the egg industry with a long-term project to collect and analyze field data from different management systems, which will serve to inform the general public about conditions of egg production in Germany and to develop refined management recommendations to improve the predictability of results in non-cage systems.

The annual meeting of the German Branch will be held on the 17th and 18th of March 2009 at the University of Vechta, in the heart of the "silicon valley" of the German poultry industry. Six invited papers on current research topics, followed by visits of two companies, are likely to attract more participants than the usual 20% of our 350 members.

Hungary: Together with the Faculty of Animal Science at the University of Kaposvar, the Hungarian branch will sponsor The IX International Poultry Science Symposium on Possibilities in Improving Efficiency of Poultry Production that will be held on the 18th of November, 2008 in the Conference Hall at the University of Kaposvar, Kaposvar, Hungary. The symposium will start at 9:30 a.m. and will feature eight speakers and a general discussion, followed by a luncheon. The participation deadline is 10th November. Participation fee: 6.000 HUF; Deadline: 10th November 2008; Tel: +36 82/505-800 ext. 265; E-mail: zsuzsi@ke.hu.

Japan: The following new officers of the Japan Poultry Science Association (JPSA) were selected for 2 years from April 1st, 2008. President: Dr Kiyoshi Shimada; Vice presidents: Dr Yukinori Yoshimura and Mr Jiro Nakagawa; Secretary: Dr Kunio Sugahara; Treasurer: Dr Keijiro Nirasawa, and the Branch secretary of WPSA, Dr Tamao Ono. The JPSA organizes a semi-annual meeting that is held each Spring (~80 papers) and Fall (~60 papers and a special symposium). Special topics on "HPAI R/D" and "Rice as a feed" were selected for 2008 Fall symposium. Dr Etsuo Goto was given an Honorary membership for his great contribution to the JPSA. His dedication from the point of view of poultry industry for more than half a century was deeply acknowledged. The JPSA publishes 4 issues of the Journal of Poultry Science a year (Editor-in-Chief, Dr Makoto Mori), and this journal will acquire an Impact Factor in 2010. Submission of review and original papers are invited (http://wwwsoc.nii.ac.jp/jpsa/index-e.html).

Lebanon: The Lebanon Branch of WPSA held its annual meeting on November 1st, 2008, at the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences of the American University of Beirut. There were 38 members out of a total of fifty registered in the Branch present and 15 guests (non-members). The president of the branch Dr N.J. Daghir, welcomed the group with introductory remarks pointing out that the branch is now 45 years old having been established in 1963 and is one of the oldest branches in the Middle East region. He then introduced the secretary of the branch Mr Abdul-Ghani Mishlawi who read the annual report which included all the activities of the branch and the work of the executive committee during the past year. This was followed by a presentation of the financial report that was made by Dr Nada Usayran ( member at large) because of the absence of the treasurer Mr Samir Cortbawi due to illness. The president then introduced the main speaker  Dr Hafez Muhamad Hafez, Head of the Institute of Poultry Diseases at the Free University in Berlin, Germany, and President of the World Veterinary Poultry Association. Dr Hafez lecture was on “Respiratory Disease: A Continuous Global Threat to Poultry Health”. The lecture was mainly on three respiratory diseases; Mycoplasma, Avian Influenza and Infectious Bronchitis. In the case of Mucoplasma, Dr Hafez emphasized the importance of freedom of parent flocks from the disease and reduced dependence on medications. He then gave an excellent update on Avian Influenza World wide. In addition to basic information on Infectious Bronchitis, he stressed the importance of type of vaccine used, its concentration and its handling.

Malaysia: The Malaysian Branch’s activities during the past year have included the sending out of a press release by Branch President Dr Vincent Ng In Hooi on the Global Energy Crisis. The branch also sponsored a seminar on June 25, 2008 on The New Energy Crisis. Professor Dr Ruveyde Akbay and Dr Piet Simons were invited speakers. A new WPSA Malaysia Branch website www.wpsa-malaysia.com was launched during the seminar. A Recognition Award was presented to WPSA President Professor Akbay, and three Fellowship Awards were given to Prof. Emeritus Dr Abdul Latif Ibrahim, Tan Sri. Prof. Emeritus Dr Syed Jalaluddin, and Dr Raghavan. Two Outstanding Industry Awards were given to Sunzen Biotech Berhad and Lay Hong Berhad.

The Malaysia Branch's Honorary Treasurer Dr Kok Poe Chu also sent out a press release on the Importation of Bird Flu Free Broiler Meat.

South Africa: The 27th Scientific Day organised by the South African Branch of the WPSA was held at the CSIR Conference Centre in Pretoria, and over 180 people attended the meeting. Most of the speakers this year were from outside of South Africa, which gave the event an interesting international flavour. Dr Steve Collett from the University of Georgia, USA gave two excellent presentations relating to the role of the gut in poultry nutrition: the first was about Nutrigenomics, i.e. identifying which genes are influenced by which nutrients and how altered gene expression affects health and performance; and the second was about Enhancing gut health and improving productivity by seeding the hatchling gut with favourable flora, early modification of the gut environment to promote climax flora development, pathogen exclusion (competitive and selective), immune modulation, and ingredient/nutrient management. Dr Colin Fisher also gave two presentations, the first dealing with Modelling and its application to the management of feeding decisions, and the second dealing with The protein and amino acid nutrition of broiler breeders. Dr Mike Bedford of AB-Vista in the UK spoke on The use of NSPases for improving efficiency of nutrient extraction from corn for poultry, and Dr Peter Plumstead, of Danisco, discussed The use of phytase, and the implications for nutrient digestion and absorption. Bob Nichol, from Biomin, gave a presentation on The problem of mycotoxins in poultry feeds, and Rob Gous discussed The advantages of using less light for commercial broiler production and presented mechanisms to explain these. This event is highly regarded by the poultry science community in South Africa.

Sri Lanka: The Sri Lanka Branch focused this year on the theme: Eradication of Malnutrition and Poverty Alleviation through poultry farming. With this theme in view several activities were organized during the past year, including: An on-going practical programme on Compost making out of spent poultry litter which was started last year, but was given a boost with financial assistance from USAID through FAO. TI1’s training is conducted by Dr Hemantha Wijewardene an expert on the subject, and who is also a Deputy Director of Agricultural Research in the Sri Lankan Department of Agriculture. The training sessions are provided in the different agro-climatic zones of the country. The advantages to the poultry farmers are: the production of good quality organic fertilizer from poultry litter which provides extra income to the farmers, as well as an environmentally-friendly organic fertilizer for their agricultural needs; Control of diseases, as many pathogens are destroyed in the process of composting. Ten such one day training programmes have been scheduled and seven have been completed during the past year.

An awareness programme on the Nutrient Value of Eggs was also done that especially targeted the mothers and young children. In this activity the Sri Lankan branch joined hands with the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka. A trainers' programme was held where the target audience was Public Health personnel, pre-school teachers, and some key community health workers. A similar programme is being scheduled in another area, targeting small farmers and labouring families in tea estates. A seminar on Layer Management and Environmental Controlled Housing was also conducted for the membership. The speakers were lng. Helmich Van Rees and lng. Ernst Beitler who are lecturers at the Barneveld College, the Netherlands.

Turkey: The Turkish Branch of WPSA is organising a national poultry symposium in Ankara on 12 November 2008. This meeting will deal with the issues and problems facing Turkish poultry today. Contact person: Prof. Dr Servet Yalçın, E-mail: servet.yalcin@ege.edu.tr.

The Turkish Branch is also pleased to announce that an international symposium on “The Return of the Good Egg” will be held in Istanbul on 26-28 November, 2008. The symposium will mainly focus on the nutritional value of eggs, egg quality, and production systems including housing, management and nutrition. Our aim is to exchange ideas among scientists, industry, consumers and the health science community around the world. Leading egg researchers will share their research findings on egg-related topics. The scientific programme will be led by invited oral presentations, accompanied by contributed short oral presentations and posters.
The most renowned scientists in this field will be present as invited speakers, including Prof. Dr Donald J. McNamara, the Executive Director of the USA’s Egg Nutrition Center, Prof. Dr Peter Surai, Prof. Dr J. M. Guillaumin from Alltech, Prof. Dr Yves Nys from France, and Prof. Dr Joël Gautron from INRA. A press conference will be held on 27 November 2008 to inform members of the press and the general public about eggs and the cholesterol issue. Contact person: Prof. Dr Servet Yalçın, E-mail: servet.yalcin@ege.edu.tr. Symposium website: http://www.goodegg2008.com.

USA: The USA branch of WPSA was extremely pleased by the large attendance of our members at the 2008 World’s Poultry Congress in Brisbane, Australia. The branch was well represented by university, public sector, and allied industry personnel. The opportunity to interact with colleagues and fellow professionals from a number of countries was of enormous benefit. We look forward to continuing to promote bilateral participation in professional events of this calibre throughout the world.

One of the most successful initiatives of the USA branch in recent years has been to provide complimentary WPSA memberships to all graduate students in all phases of Poultry Science at US Universities. Currently, 140 students at US institutions are receiving the journal. Not only do we anticipate immediate benefit from this exposure to WPSA and its journal by these future scientists, but we hope to also stimulate a life-long interest in the association, and the incorporation of the journal into the student’s permanent professional library.

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WPSA Sponsored and other poultry related Symposia and Conferences

A number of WPSA sponsored and other poultry meetings have been planned for 2008 and 2009
(See the WPSA Website for contact and registration information), including:

We hope that many of you will consider participating in one or more of these poultry educational meetings. See the WPSA website (www.wpsa.com ) for details and registration information.

WPSA Secretariat: Dr Piet Simons, PO Box 31, 7360 AA  Beekbergen, The Netherlands
Phone: +31 55 506 3250, Fax: +31 55 506 4858, E-mail: piet.simons@wur.nl or wpsa@xs4all.nl

From 1 January 2009
Dr Roel W.A.W. Mulder, roel.mulder@wpsa.com or wpsa@xs4all.nl
Website: www.wpsa.com