New Program Aims to Help Poultry Industry

Mar 16, 2011

A new program centered at Pennsylvania State University will soon be the first in the U.S. to provide third-party training, proficiency testing and certification on the correct techniques for handling and transporting poultry. It will also provide a number of additional important benefits not typically found in poultry companies' in-house programs, according to PSA.

Scheduled to launch in late spring, the Poultry Handling and Transportation Quality Assurance Program will offer multiple one-day training sessions to transportation and catch crews on biosecurity, disease recognition, emergency planning and the safe and humane handling of birds. With the exception of ducks, PHTQA will cover every segment of the poultry industry, including day-old poultry, pullets, spent fowl, broilers, leghorn and broiler breeders and turkeys.

Program materials, including a detailed training manual, will be made available in both English and Spanish. Each training session will last approximately four hours, after which participants will be tested on the day's materials. Participants who successfully complete the training programme and tests will be certified by PHTQA.

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Video: Season 7, Episode 1: Managing Risk and Seeing Opportunities in U.S. Pork Production

Today’s episode features three guests discussing the similarities and differences between pork production in the United States and Brazil, along with strategies for managing risk in today’s industry while recognizing and acting on opportunities. First, Dr. Anne Caroline de Lara, executive manager of live pig production at Seara Alimentos, a JBS company in Brazil, is joined by Dr. Matthew Turner, head of operations for JBS Live Pork. Together, they discuss how labor, climate and ventilation challenges vary between Brazil and the United States, while underscoring their shared commitment to raising healthy pigs. They also point to lessons producers in both countries can take from one another’s systems and on-farm experiences. Then, Brady Reicks, risk manager at Reicks View Farms, shares his perspective on risk management, drawing from his background in markets and his transition into farming. He discusses how protecting margins varies by operation and offers practical approaches producers can use to make marketing and business decisions with greater confidence rather than hesitation.

Both conversations were recorded at recent industry events focused on swine livability, including the International Conference on Pig Livability and Iowa Swine Day.