(Little Rock, Arkansas)- - The Poultry Federation announces its plans for the 2008 Spring Symposium. Live production personnel and suppliers who support live production of turkeys, breeders, and broilers; and more specifically service technicians and grow-out managers are encouraged to register and attend. This year’s event will be held at the Holiday Inn, Springdale, AR, on April 15-16. New this year is a vendor tradeshow beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15^th, followed by an Allied Industries fund raiser for the poultry science scholarship program. The annual University of Arkansas Poultry Science Scholarship Golf Tournament is also scheduled for Tuesday. An impressive lineup of industry speakers is scheduled for all day Wednesday. Key note speaker for this year’s Symposium during the General Session is Trent Loos, well known speaker, writer, and radio/television personality in the agriculture world. Following is a list of the Symposium highlights.

General Session, Wednesday, April 16

-Continental Breakfast & Trade Show

-Welcome by Mark Cook, Townsend’s of Arkansas, Symposium Chairman

-The Poultry Federation Update by Gary Murphy, Simmons Foods, and Chairman of TPF Board

-Energy Efficiency by Jim Donald, Auburn University

-Keynote Address by Trent Loos

-Service Technician Awards Ceremony

Broiler Session

Brian Esters, Pilgrim’s Pride, Presiding

-Ventilation Discussion, by Bob Rochelle, Intervet

-Generator Maintenance and Troubleshooting by Rhory Wilson, Grey Electric

-Update Broiler Farm Energy Savings by Dr. Tom Tabler, University of Arkansas

-Veterinarians Roundtable moderated by Dr. Leonard Fussell, Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

Breeder Session

Frank Myers, Simmons Foods, Presiding

-Ventilation Update Pullet/Breeder Houses by Jim Donald, Auburn University

-Male Management by Chance Bryant, Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

-Nutritional Needs of Today’s High-Yielding Breeders by Dr. Marc DeBeer, Aviagen

-Optimal Weighing of Today’s Breeders – New Research by Dr. Keith Bramwell, University of Arkansas

Hatchery Session

Carl Jones, Simmons Foods, Presiding

-How Important is Water pH in a Hatchery? by Stacy Cunningham, Aquatech

-Hatchery Preventative Maintenance by Jerry Garrison, Jamesway Incubator Co. and Chip Campbell, Chickmaster

-New Equipment in the Hatchery – How to Justify It by Jay Huseman, Jamesway Incubator Co.

-21 Day Breakout Information-How do we use it? Group Discussion moderated by Scott Martin, Cobb-Vantress, Inc.

Turkey Session

Matt Drewyor, Butterball, LLC, Presiding

-Problem Solving Flock Issues by Dr. Brian Wooming, Cargill

-Optimizing the Turkey Barn Environment by Dr. YiLiang, University of Arkansas

-Generator Maintenance and Troubleshooting by Rhory Wilson, Grey Electric

-Turkey Managers Roundtable moderated by Craig McAtee, Butterball, LLC

More information and on-line registration is available at www.thepoultryfederation.com. The Poultry Federation is a 3-state trade organization representing the poultry and egg industries in Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Offices are located in Little Rock, AR, Jefferson City, MO, and Oklahoma City, OK.

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