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By Jim McAdam, Director of Global Product Development, Aviagen, Newbridge, Scotland
The livestock industry faces a number of challenges due to changes in public preferences. these are not limited to characteristics of the final product, but also include production methods. Primary breeders will have to adjust their selection programs and use modern technology to support product development.
The poultry industry is a highly competitive, global industry. Retailer power and changing consumer preferences place constant demands on the industry and in particular on the small group of primary breeders at the top of the production chain. This article, using market leader Aviagen as an example, examines how selective breeding skills and the latest technologies can be applied to deliver the product range performance and value attributes desired by the end consumer, whilst meeting ever increasing standards of health, safety and welfare.
What consumers want
Consumer demand for poultry meat differs from country to country and within each market different products satisfy slightly different demands. These demands have changed over time; in the UK, there used to be more demand for whole birds, today consumers favour meat portions, such as breast fillet. However notwithstanding these distinctions it is fair to say that in general consumers are looking for quality products which are safe to eat and offer value.
But these are not the only demands to meet. Retailers, particularly strong in the UK, also exert pressure to reflect their consumers' needs and their own need to remain competitive. Producers too need to be satisfied, with products that deliver the appropriate egg laying attributes of breeders or the meat delivery attributes of broilers. Market forces, economics, regulators and lobby groups add extra demands.
A primary breeder such as Aviagen seeks to develop and continuously improve pedigree lines with the right balance of desirable traits to meet these different needs. It is a matter of balancing performance - specifically efficient production, growth rate and efficient feed conversion - with health and welfare needs. It is a complicated process and entails collecting detailed information at every stage in the cycle to identify those birds most suitable for breeding:
- In the hatcheries data is collated on fertility, hatchability and egg quality characteristics.
- In the broiler phase, numerous tests are carried out to determine aspects of growth and development, including skeletal strength and heart and lung capacity; visual assessments and ultra sound are used to determine meat yield.
- Assessment of feed efficiency (FCR) Is an essential part of the selection process. State of the art equipment records what every bird eats and calculates feed intakes and efficiency as well as information on bird eating behaviour. Improvements in .feed efficiency help meet the demand for lower prices as well as making more efficient use of the world's food resources. Increased feed efficiency and weight gain also bring environmental benefits in the form of reduced energy and water usage and less nitrogen waste to deal with.
- At the laying farm, as well as reproductive performance information, the sire and dam of each egg laid is recorded so that data from subsequent generations can be matched back to build up a complete picture of the pedigree lines.
The latest analytical techniques mean that potential pedigree birds are now selected not just on their own performance but also on that of their family. Such technological developments, data collection systems and analysis techniques are of course not restricted to poultry breeding but can be successfully applied to other species.
Although there are differences between breeds, this application of technology is generally reflected in field performance. UK and US industry trends show improvements in the efficiency of poultry meat production through time, with liveweight, feed conversion efficiency and product quality all enhanced.
Food safety
Food safety is an example of applying the latest techniques both to benefit the industry and meet consumer demand. At the top of the supply chain ensuring that only disease free stocks are bred from is the first step in keeping disease out of the supply chain. Chicks in the breeding programmes are regularly monitored and tested for salmonella, campylobacter and other pathogens and, in addition, part of the pedigree selection process takes account of disease resistance capability.
Rigid biosecurity controls are employed to ensure that the breeding stock remains disease free. Aviagen has a number of farms in Scotland, each dedicated to different growth phases of the birds and each kept geographically separate from other poultry facilities, thus minimising risks of any disease spread.
At the primary breeding farm level strict biosecurity procedures are in place, controlling access to the site by people and vehicles. All personnel must shower before entering the poultry houses, with double disinfectant foot baths required on entry and exit; feed delivery vehicles are not allowed on the farms but must deliver supplies via pipelines and no vehicular access is allowed during the life of the flock.
Moving down the supply chain, detailed guidance is provided to the distributors and customers on all aspects of flock management to minimise the risk of infection entering the supply chain at any stage.
Parallel breeding programmes on four continents ensure that in the unlikely event that supplies from one region are compromised; customers can be supplied from an alternative source.
Welfare issues
Reduced disease and mortality are not just issues of efficiency, equally important these pertain to the health and welfare of the birds. Welfare issues have been steadily rising up the agendas of both consumers and retailers, particularly in Europe. Anticipating such trends at an early stage is vital for primary breeders who must build these attributes into their products. According to Aviagen's Director of Veterinary Services, Barry Thorp, "There has been a big increase in awareness of health and welfare issues by consumers, retailers and other advocates. But it's not just driven by them, it has always been firmly on our agenda. Health and welfare has been a priority for some time, but it's a good thing when others make it an issue too as this means we are all working towards a broader objective, not just being driven by low prices. "
An example is the use of antibiotics to prevent disease. Whilst initially effective as a precautionary measure, longer term fears of antibiotic resistance were being raised. Whilst consumers and welfare groups began to publicly object to this practice, behind the scenes Aviagen had embarked on replacing antibiotic use with heightened biosecurity and on the long process of increased selection for disease resistance.
Another example is chicken leg health. Leg health has become a major issue in recent years; the concern is that increased body weight puts too much strain on the legs causing skeletal weakness. Ironically the problems of leg health were exacerbated in the 1990s when, partly in response to consumer demand in Europe, the use of growth promoters and feeding of bone meal was stopped - solving one set of problems led to new challenges.
Again the challenge was met by a combination of breeding improvements and applications of technology.
Regular physical examinations of chicks are the first line of defence against skeletal weakness and were very much relied on up to the1980's. Then the introduction of the Lixiscope (a hand held X-ray like device) enabled any problems at the sub clinical level to be identified. Today, in addition, computerised data collection and analysis means family histories can be compared and any tendency to leg weakness will be a barrier to entry to the breeding programmes.
The effort put into improving leg health has paid dividends and is reflected in field performance. The British Poultry Council's Gait Score survey shows that in the period February 1994 to March 2000 leg weakness prevalence had declined by 20%. US data similarly shows significant improvements. However, management practices and nutrition can greatly influence the expression of this genetic potential and often leg health issues can be traced to a nutritional deficiency or localised environmental problem rather than any inherent weakness in the stock itself.
Leg health is just one factor to consider. As Aviagen's Senior Geneticist Alfons Koerhuis explains. "In the 1960's the focus of broiler genetics was liveweight. Now it's a balance between a whole series of performance related and welfare factors. In terms of performance we look at a variety of traits including egg numbers and hatchability, weight, meat quality, breast yield and feed conversion efficiency. Our health and welfare criteria consider skeletal integrity, disease resistance and cardiovascular fitness."
Not withstanding the huge advances in recent years the whole process of improving performance though selective breeding remains a complex challenge. It takes several years for genetic selection at the pedigree farm to reach the consumer. Deciding which traits to select is a fine balancing act as, Koerhuis added: "It's a highly dynamic market with ever changing demands which we need to understand and anticipate well in advance. Our focus is to use the latest technology to help us meet those demands and at the same time balance the need for health and welfare of the animal. Breeding takes time so meeting the needs of tomorrow's consumer means we have to make the right decisions today. "
Courtesy of Agriworld Vision - Volume 4, Number 1, 2004
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