Poultry Hub

Position Available: Senior Research Officer – SARDI

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:28:40 +0000

SARDI is a leading research and development institute delivering innovation to enhance the food, fibre and bioscience industries and living environmental systems, working in collaboration with state, national and international collaborators, partners and investors.

Position Description - Senior Research Officer (.pdf)

Duties: SARDI is a member of the Southern Star Poultry Alliance and is a supporting participant in the Poultry Cooperative Research Centre (Poultry CRC). The CRC’s major challenge is to help Australia achieve sustainable, ethical poultry production in the face of population growth and climate change. This is a key role in the Pig and Poultry Science Program within the Division of Livestock and Farming Systems, South Australian Research and Development Institute and the Southern Star Poultry Alliance that supports a Senior Research Scientist in the conduct and coordination of projects on nutritive effects of complex carbohydrates on gut microbial communities. The role is co-funded by the Poultry CRC to identify gut microbes and gene expression patterns consistently associated with high-performing birds. It offers a rare opportunity to develop a career as a research leader in poultry science. The Senior Research Officer will be responsible for conducting experiments in conjunction with the Senior Research Scientist and in collaboration with other research institutions in South Australia, interstate and overseas. The work will require a person with knowledge and understanding of the Australian poultry industries and leading edge technologies used in poultry nutrition research. An understanding of poultry welfare would be advantageous. Essential Qualifications: The applicant must have a Bachelor Degree in Science or equivalent. Special Conditions: This is a contract role, initially until 30 March 2015, located at the Roseworthy Campus, University of Adelaide. Occasional interstate travel, including absence overnight, will be required. The appointee is required to handle live birds and to work in poultry sheds that may induce an allergic reaction in some people. Frequent out-of-hours and some weekend work is required. A current vehicle driver’s licence is required. Enquiries to: Bob Hughes, telephone 83037788, mobile 0409573775

Applications to: Ms Sandy Wyatt, JS Davies Building, Roseworthy Campus, Roseworthy, 5371, telephone 83137665, email Sandy.Wyatt@sa.gov.au, web site www.sardi.sa.gov.au Note: If you are interested in this opportunity, please forward a Covering Letter (no more than 3 pages) outlining your skills and experience in relation to the Capabilities Profile of the role and a current CV. Applicants are to include the contact information of 3 current referees and a completed “Declaration of Employment in the SA Public Sector” form. For further information and a copy of the duty statement please visit www.sardi.sa.gov.au Applications Close: 5pm Friday 31 May 2013 SARDI is a business division of Primary Industries and Regions SA

Position Available: Technical Sales Manager Australia – EW Nutrition

admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 05:27:55 +0000

EW Nutrition GmbH (an affiliate of the EW Group) is a fast growing company, globally active with a strong science-based product portfolio in the field of functional, innovative feed additives. The product portfolio includes Functional Egg Proteins (Globigen®), Toxin binders (Mastersorb®), marketing leading products in the Brazilian market, extracts and secondary plant compounds purified essential oils (Activo®), MOS (BgMOS®). They provide high quality, technically differentiated feed additives with supportive research, development and highly skilled employees. EW Nutrition are in the process of establishing an increased local presence in all key markets around the world, including Australia. For this they are seeking professionals for:

Technical Sales Manager (click for .pdf version)

Required competence/experience:

Technical sales experience in relevant agricultural, animal health or animal feed sectors
Entrepreneurial qualities and a pioneering spirit
Good education and relevant know-how
Understanding of customer and market needs
Excellent personnel management & motivation skills

To apply, please contact: Dr Mark Deimel: HR Department, EW Nutrition GmbH, mark.deimel@ew-nutrition.com Robert Nichol: General Manager EW Nutrition South East Asia / Pacific Pte Ltd, Singapore +65 9838 4543, robert.nichol@ew-nutrition.com Company: EW Nutrition GmbH, Trichterbecherweg 3, 49429 Visbek, Germany, www.ew-nutrition.com

Recent Development in Egg Albumin Quality

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 02:00:05 +0000

Welcome to another edition of eChook! The hen’s egg contains many essential nutrients, as it is a “self-contained unit” for starting a new life! Indeed, the egg is a major food source, supplying good quality, balanced nutrients to billions of people. For example, the world’s total hen egg production in 2011 was 70.5 million tonnes (FAO 2013), which is 8 million tonnes more than beef production for the same year. In the developed world, particularly from the mid-1990s onwards, consumers have become more fastidious about the food they eat. For the global poultry industry, this consumer focus has resulted in a great deal of research into egg quality. Recently, the Poultry CRC organised a workshop to compile and contextualise the part of this research relating to egg albumin quality. The key contributor to the workshop was Dr Yves Nys from Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), France. In this edition, I am delighted to introduce a review arising from the workshop. Entitled “How to Control Albumin Quality: state of the art, recent developments and putative innovation” by Dr Yeves Nys and Dr Nicolas Guyot. The review comprehensively discusses the fundamental science of the structure and characteristics of albumin, as well as albumin quality aspects related to production, storage and processing. Recent advances in albumin quality research are also covered. By way of background, Dr Nys is the lead author for a two-volume book called “Improving the safety and quality of eggs and egg products”. In Australia, a hard copy of the review is available on request from the Poultry CRC. Please contact Mr Mick Warner on (02) 6773 3767 or at mwarner@poultrycrc.com.au Mingan

2013 Jeff Fairbrother Scholarship recipient

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:30:13 +0000

Congratulations go to new Poultry CRC Honours student Mr Ben Vezina, who has been awarded the 2013 Jeff Fairbrother Scholarship. This award gives Ben an extra $2000 on top of his existing CRC scholarship. Well done Ben! Ben’s project, ‘Development of plasmid cloning vectors for use in Lactobacillus’ aims to develop new plasmid cloning vectors suitable for use in the live delivery vector strain aspect of Dr Rob Moore’s Project (Project 3.1.4). Ben’s project will build upon previous PhD projects that identified a number of Lactobacillus strains that can reliably persist in birds, and that can be genetically manipulated, thus being excellent candidates for development as live strains for antigen delivery. Dr Moore explains, “This Honours project will assist with the development of the underlying technology and will develop new plasmid shuttle-vectors, specifically tailored to our needs, which can replicate in both Escherichia coli and L. agilis. Shuttle-vectors have been developed for use in other lactobacillus species, and we are currently utilizing these plasmids, however, they have a number of limitations in terms of structure, size, restriction enzyme sites, and stability. The plasmid cloning vectors developed in this Honours project will be a significant advance on the current tools and this project will significantly aid our efforts to develop a Campylobacter vaccine”. Ben explained how this all came about. “My bachelor degree at Deakin University required a unit of work experience, so I decided to step out of my suburban comfort zone and apply for CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory” said Ben. “I landed with Dr Rob Moore and his chicken team and moved down to Geelong for two weeks. Within that time I had learned not so much about the glossy term “science”, but about science in the real world. They were a team of intelligent people who got together and tried to solve problems; I felt like they were a team of molecular detectives. After I left I knew that I wanted to be a part of a team like that, and if I wanted to learn about good science in the field I was interested in, then I should apply for Honours with these people. So I picked a project Rob was supervising and got accepted. I guess when it comes down to it, I chose to do research because I am interested in learning, and I honestly couldn’t think of a more interesting career than having someone pay you to learn things. My project involves looking at trying to develop a vaccine for Campylobacter using a probiotic organism”. Ben’s plans to complete his Honours and is fairly certain his future will involve molecular/microbiological research, and possibly a PhD. “So far I have learned a lot while enjoying my time being part of the team” he said. “It is nice feeling like my time is being spent in a meaningful way and I am contributing to something bigger than myself. The work is challenging and I am enjoying the responsibility I have been given”. [caption id="attachment_1581" align="alignleft" width="275"] Poultry CRC Chair, The Hon John Kerin, CEO Professor MIngan Choct and former Chair Jeff Fairbrother in 2009[/caption]

Poultry CRC deliver competent personnel to industry

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:15:51 +0000

Masters of Science in Agricultural – Mr Daniel Cook In early April, on the lawns of Booloominbah at the University of New England, the Sciences, Health and Medicine Awards Graduation Ceremony was held. Poultry CRC supported student Mr Daniel Cook graduated with a Master of Science in Agriculture. His thesis, titled Incidence and prevalence of Campylobacter in free range meat chickens compared to intensively farmed meat chickens, was undertaken while working full-time for Ingham’s Enterprises. [caption id="attachment_5823" align="alignleft" width="275"] Masters graduate Mr Daniel Cook[/caption] Daniel, who commenced his Masters under the first round Australian Poultry CRC, spoke to us about his experience. “I had been working for Ingham’s for around eighteen months when Mingan (Poultry CRC CEO) came up to talk to us in the lab and said, this is what the CRC can offer”. After completing an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Science, Daniel wanted to further his study but also wanted to get into the industry. He therefore jumped at the chance to be able to do both with the support of the CRC and his employer. Daniel’s project conducted an analysis of the epidemiology of Campylobacter in free range and intensively reared chickens in an Australian integrated poultry operation. His research identified that Campylobacter incidence does not differ between the two rearing systems. This means, as Daniel explains, “the control of bacteria levels on finished poultry products is important in any production system to reduce the potential for poultry-related food borne illness”. With his interest in biomedical and food science, Daniel believes he has been fortunate to work in the poultry industry, where he can satisfy these interests. “I am enjoying every minute of working with Ingham’s, and look forward to my future here”, said Daniel. “I’d like to thank the Poultry CRC for supporting me during my Masters candidature”. With his Masters now complete, Daniel is looking forward to a break from study to concentrate on work and his young family. Doctor of Philosophy - Dr Reza Barekatain Another graduate on the day was Dr Reza Barekatain. Reza completed this PhD thesis at UNE under the supervision of Associate Professor Paul Iji, with co-supervision by the CRC’s Professor Mingan Choct. Although not directly supported by CRC funding during his candidature, Reza has enjoyed close ties with the CRC throughout his time at UNE. His Thesis is titled Growth, Nutrient Utilisation and Gut Health of Broiler Chickens Fed Sorghum Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles. [caption id="attachment_5824" align="alignright" width="275"] Professor Bob Swick and Dr Reza Barekatain[/caption] Since Reza submitted his thesis he has been employed as a post-doc at UNE working with Professor Bob Swick and Associate Professor Paul Iji on two CRC projects, namely, Replacing supplemental oil with full fat canola seed in broiler diets (Swick) and Use of novel protein sources and improved starter feed formulation for broiler chicks (Iji/Swick). “These are very exciting areas to be working in, for example, we are experimenting with the introduction of novel proteins, delivered in the diet early in life, that may boost bird performance right up to market weight” said Reza. Reza reflected on his CRC connections, “I have always enjoyed the support of CRC staff, in particular my co-supervisor Mingan. I was also lucky enough to be the first to use the calorimetric chambers constructed for the joint RIRDC/CRC ‘net energy’ project as part of my PhD experiments” he said. Reza has also made many friends among other Poultry CRC students scattered throughout Australia. Speaking of his future plans, Reza said he couldn't anticipate too far into the future. “I want to remain here (UNE) and in general, academia, for a few years to gain more experience engaging in various poultry research topics. Then I may be more open to commercial opportunities particularly in the research and development sector” he said. No matter where his path may take him, the poultry industry has gained another high quality research scientist.

PhD student speaks of odour

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:00:54 +0000

Poultry CRC PhD student Mr Hung Viet Le recently travelled to San Francisco to present a paper entitled Stability of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) in sampling bags – Impact of temperature. “The paper contained a segment of the results of my PhD research which is sponsored by the Poultry CRC”, Hung said. The paper was presented at the 5^th International Water Association’s Specialised Conference on Odour and Air Emissions, held in conjunction with the 10^th Conference on Biofiltration for Air Pollution Control. Hung observed a common theme throughout his time in the US; that odour complaints remain a major challenge for intensive agricultural facilities such as animal feeding operations (poultry, piggeries and feedlots), and activities like waste water treatment plants or industrial composting. “This was especially serious in regions with diminishing buffer zones between these types of facilities and residential areas”, he added. Interestingly, Hung noted, odour impacts from poultry broiler sheds tend to be higher when atmospheric conditions are categorised as stable or neutral. In terms of his own research, Hung said that there have been some standardised protocols for volatile organic compound (VOC) odour sample collection, but that H2S (Hydrogen Sulphide) was still considered the surrogate compound for sulfur odour measurements. In many cases, however, it has been acknowledged that H2S cannot be relied upon as the sole indicator of odour in odour assessment. “Many papers and delegates noted that, in terms of odour assessment, other volatile sulfur compounds (mercaptan, sulfides, poly-sulfides) needed to be seriously considered.” Currently, the predominate methods for odour mitigation of VOC odorants in industry are through the use of biofiltration, biotrickling filters, or activated carbon. However, these methods introduce additional costs to producers in terms of energy consumption and maintenance, with little to no return on investment. “Another problem with these methods can be the formation of unwanted by-products, such as the greenhouse gases NH3 and N2O, that require further treatment”, said Hung. Hung continued, “As previously mentioned, use of odour treatment methods such as biofiltration, biotrickling filter or activated carbon can introduce more cost in terms of energy and maintenance. Further study is needed into possible correlations between odour emissions and the food used in poultry sheds, as well as microbial activities in poultry manure. Results can then be used to establish effective odour mitigation schemes at the very source of odour emissions”. Through research such as Hung’s the Australian poultry industry will have greater capacity to analyse volatile sulfur compounds in order to obtain accurate odour assessment results. This will in turn lead to more effective odour management strategies for poultry sheds. “By learning from the experience of overseas poultry shed operations we can better manage odour emissions during the planning stages of future expansion/development.” Hung concluded by saying that “I am grateful to the Poultry CRC for allowing me this opportunity. The conference gave me a chance to meet and exchange ideas with many people in the field of odour sampling/assessment, modelling, management/treatment, which is the main topic of my PhD research”.

Egg grading game to enhance public appreciation of industry

admin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 05:28:34 +0000

Welcome to another edition of eChook! Firstly, I’d like to congratulate Sonia Liu for winning the Poultry CRC Student Presentation Award at the recent Australian Poultry Science Symposium. Sonia Yun Liu is undertaking her PhD in poultry nutrition at the University of Sydney under the auspices of Professor Aaron Cowieson. Secondly, we will highlight our Program 3 - Safe and Quality Food Production in this edition. Our Program Manager, Dr Pat Blackall, explains how industry is working hard and taking a lead role in minimising food safety risks associated with poultry products. It is worth noting that in addition to the Poultry CRC research in food safety and quality, both the egg and chicken meat sectors of the Australian poultry industry have a great track record of research in food safety and active public awareness campaigns to educate the public about safe food handling practices. I am delighted to announce the release of our educational game, Egg Grab’n’Grade, in the Apple app store. This game requires players to grade different types of eggs as they pass through the grading floor – quite a challenge! After months of development and testing, the CRC is over the moon with the finished product. Best of all, the game is available for free in the app store (Australia only). So please go and give it a test run if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod. Finally, the PoultryGrad Workshop is worth a good mention. This annual CRC event is designed to allow our postgraduates, post-docs and industry interns to interact with each other and with industry. PoultryGrad 2013 was held in Melbourne this week, and we were extremely fortunate to have the expertise of renowned science communicator Julian Cribb and his colleagues to teach our researchers presentation and media skills. I enjoyed the session immensely as it was so entertaining and informative. Added to this experience were the hands-on demonstration sessions at Ridley AgriProducts and Zoetis (formerly Pfizer Animal Health). Everyone appreciated seeing how commercial companies use science and how those companies’ processes relate to what our researchers are doing in their studies and research work. So a huge thank you to the staff of Ridley and Zoetis for generously giving their time and making their facilities available for us to visit! Regards, Mingan [caption id="attachment_5754" align="alignleft" width="275"] PhD candidate Ms Sonia Yun Liu - 2013 APSS Student Presentation winner[/caption]

Spotlight on Poultry CRC’s Program 3: Safe and Quality Food Production

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:15:41 +0000

Dr Pat Blackall, Principal Research Fellow with Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (at The University of Queensland), manages the Safe and Quality Food Production program for the Poultry CRC. This program’s major challenge, as its name suggests, is to maximise food quality and safety for consumers of poultry products. Food safety is a key issue for all food industries - OzFoodNet reported that cases of food-borne illness in 2010 represented a cost to the Australian economy in the vicinity of 1.2 billion dollars. Pat explained the concept behind this program, “In the onset of the second round Poultry CRC, the major concerns for industry in terms of food safety were identified as Campylobacter and Salmonella, for meat and egg producers respectively”. Indeed, of the 30,035 reported cases of food-borne illness in 2010, a staggering 96% of these were attributed to either Campylobacter (16,968) or Salmonella (11,992) (OzFoodNet). For the chicken meat sector, industry requested that the CRC concentrate on on-farm aspects of Campylobacter, rather than the subsequent processing aspects. The rationale was for a co-ordinated approach with the other major funding arm – the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Chicken Meat Program – to enable the two bodies to work together on an overall control program. “It’s a difficult ask”, says Pat, “To date no-one has really got interventions on the farm that industry finds very acceptable. For instance, there is some nice research overseas that found you can have a significant impact on Campylobacter colonisation in flocks if you can flyscreen the sheds.” However, this type of intervention may prove non-practical, or difficult to implement and maintain. Pat also notes that this research was conducted under overseas conditions, which may not readily translate to Australia. [caption id="attachment_5439" align="alignleft" width="275"] Experimental semi-commercial egg washing with Dr Margaret Sexton[/caption] Simple and practical intervention strategies have proved difficult to deliver, primarily due to Campylobacter being endemic in the environment. However a number of ongoing CRC research projects into Campylobacter are attracting industry interest. Two such projects are Dr Gireesh Rajashekara’s Small molecule inhibitors as anti-Campylobacter jejuni agents and Dr Rob Moore’s Vaccine to reduce Campylobacter colonisation in meat chickens. According to Pat, results for the egg industry sector have been very positive, with the CRC producing “very practical projects with very practical outcomes for industry”. Three such projects, Dr Margaret Sexton’s Egg washing – Improving efficacy and safety to optimise profitability (now completed), Associate Professor Julie Robert’s Eggshell quality and risks of food borne pathogens and Dr Kapil Chousalker’s Epidemiology of Salmonella on layer farms are resulting in real-world applications. As is the case with Campylobacter, Salmonella is naturally prevalent in the environment, so controlling this pathogen on-farm is difficult. [caption id="attachment_4203" align="alignright" width="275"] Campylobacter bacteria[/caption] In addition to the aforementioned projects Pat said, “A number of our student research projects are intrinsically linked to these major projects, and these will increase our understanding of situations, and our capacity to deal with these key pathogens”. More information about these projects can be found on the Poultry CRC and Poultry Hub websites. Both the chicken meat industry and the egg industry have active public education programs to inform the wider community about food safety. “Responsibility lies throughout the chain” said Pat. Poultry producers and processors take many steps to minimise risks of food-borne illness causing pathogens, but without responsible food handling by consumers the chain is broken. The poultry industry has worked hard with Government to ensure that food safety regulations governing the production of poultry are practical and relevant. Industry is committed to producing safe and high quality food products, “and they do their very best to deliver that type of product”, said Pat. For instance, the introduction of Standard 4.2.2 - Primary Production and Processing Standard for Poultry Meat in May 2012 has been embraced by the poultry industry, which accepts the industry role of ensuring contamination risks are minimised. Outputs from the Poultry CRC’s Safe and Quality Food Production research program will ultimately enhance the capacity of industry to minimise risks commonly associated with poultry products.

EggGrab’n'Grade! – Poultry CRC launches an iTunes app

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 01:00:45 +0000

The Poultry CRC is thrilled to announce that after many months of hard work, we have an app in the iTunes store! Titled Egg Grab’n’Grade, our newest learning resource is available as a FREE download within Australia. Egg Grab’n’Grade illustrates the different types of eggs that are removed on a grading floor. Egg Grab’n’Grade shows how eggs make their way from hen houses where they are laid, through the grading floor, to a packing station where they are put into cartons, and then on to shop shelves. Players must identify the cracked, dirty, misshaped, undersized or oversized eggs and move them to the appropriate ‘buckets’, while leaving the good eggs to go through to packing. The game includes a comprehensive tutorial about each egg type, and includes a number of factoids about eggs. With a great soundtrack, colourful graphics and lots of positive feedback, the game is visually appealing and can be highly addictive as players try to beat their previous scores. Players can play in a stand-alone mode, or, if logged on to Apple’s Game Centre, they can compete with their friends online for achievements and high scores. This game has been designed principally to teach school students about food safety and quality in the egg industry. It is compatible with ipad2, ipod4 and iphone4 (and later versions of each) and can be easily integrated by educators into the classroom environment. It provides a good spring-board for discussions around food production, food safety and quality assurance. But most of all, playing it is fun! And while having fun, students can learn without even noticing it. [caption id="attachment_5771" align="alignright" width="275"] The Holopoint team with Poultry CRC Education Manager Liz Roan[/caption] The game was developed in conjunction with Holopoint Interactive in Adelaide. The Holopoint team have done a wonderful job throughout the whole process. From the original concept, through many hours of testing and refinement to the completed product, their understanding, patience and professionalism have been outstanding! The Holopoint team of Tom and Ben travelled to Poultry CRC headquarters in Armidale during the initial phase of this project to flesh-out original concepts for the game. A subsequent trip to Tamworth producers Bede and Narrelle Burke (from ‘Glendon Poultry’) allowed Ben and Tom to see egg grading first hand. From this experience, the Holopoint team was able to replicate the look and feel of egg grading. Poultry CRC hopes that the game will prove popular in Australia and, with Easter upon us, now is the perfect time to introduce a game about eggs! [caption id="attachment_5724" align="alignleft" width="275"] An early 'skeletal' version of the game during testing[/caption] [caption id="attachment_5725" align="alignright" width="275"] Screenshot of the completed app[/caption]

Future Leaders Flock to PoultryGrad 2013

admin — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 00:45:04 +0000

Postgraduates, Post-doctorates and Interns from the Poultry CRC gathered recently in Melbourne for the CRC’s annual PoultryGrad workshop. Held over two and a half days, this year’s event featured classroom sessions from renowned Australian science communicator Julian Cribb and site visits to Ridley Agriproducts Feedmill and the Pfizer Animal Health (now Zoetis) manufacturing facility. From the outset, students were keen to speak to one another, particularly those working in similar fields. The supremacy of face-to-face communication can be seen at events such as this where synergies are generated and deep connections made that would never arise via electronic channels. The event was also an excellent opportunity for Program Managers to catch up with postgraduate students working in their program areas. Following a welcome dinner, the first full day commenced with Poultry CRC CEO Professor Mingan Choct speaking about leadership. He showed how a leader should work to achieve effective collaboration and innovation. Drawing from years of experience, he advised the audience that the best way forward in any given field is to seek out the ‘best people’ residing in that field, globally. He listed key points to remember when forming an effective team, and spoke of the importance of carefully managing multiple personalities. Professor Choct believes that “effective collaboration should lead to an enhancement of both parties’ capabilities and not an ‘averaging out’, which lowers the overall effectiveness and impact of the collaboration”. [caption id="attachment_5765" align="alignleft" width="275"] Julian Cribb proved popular with attendees[/caption] Next, Julian Cribb presented on the art of science communication. Special emphasis was placed on communicating research to a broader, non-scientific audience. Julian bought with him two journalists from Coretext, a leading R&D custom publisher and communications agency in Australia, Dr Gio Braidotti (PhD in molecular genetics) and Ms Alexandra Roginski. These two reporters conducted mock interviews with selected students, ranging from professional through to tabloid-style interviews. Feedback received from this session showed that this was one of the highlights of the workshop. Following this, Adam Naylor (General Manager, Alltech Australia) and Dr Tamsyn Crowley (Research Fellow in Bioinformatics, Deakin University), spoke about their experiences post-PhD in both the commercial and academic arenas. Adam encouraged the students to “question, question, question” those around them and to recognise opportunity, even in crisis. Tamsyn reflected on the contract-based nature of much research work, highlighting the need to apply for grants, network, collaborate and establish a good track record. Feedback from all sessions was extremely positive, with students commenting that they had gained a lot from the wealth of experience on offer. [caption id="attachment_5766" align="alignright" width="275"] PhD candidate Jake Lacey explains his research with passion[/caption] The second day started with a field trip to the Ridley Agriproducts feed mill in Pakenham. Peter Cransberg, Greg Connors and staff gave a fascinating insight into the formulation and logistics of feed production, and students were taken a tour of the feed mill to see firsthand how feeds are produced and distributed. This was well received by all. Following Ridley, attendees headed to Parkville to tour the Pfizer vaccine production plant. Here Dr John Power outlined the operations of the facility (both human and animal), and demonstrated the process involved in vaccine production from master seed to final market-ready product. A tour of both the production facility and R&D laboratories followed, where production processes could be observed first hand. This rare and fantastic opportunity was greatly appreciated by all who attended. Overall, PoultryGrad 2013 was hugely successful. One can see in the attendees the future leaders of the Australian poultry industry. These young (some more than others), sharp and keen minds have been set to the task, and will no doubt have an impact on the industry not only in the domestic scene but also internationally. [caption id="attachment_5767" align="alignleft" width="275"] Touring the Ridley feedmill[/caption]