The La Cumbre Avícola Latinoamericana, held during the 2025 International Production & Processing Expo, provided information about the factors that affect the efficient marketing of poultry farming in Latin America. The program was organized into five sessions – grain management, food safety, genetics, breeding and health – and began with an opening session featuring two speakers, followed by an panel discussion. Carlos Campadabal, professor of grain science and industry at Kansas State University, launched the program by discussing the grain characteristics required for intensification and efficiency of feed mills. He was followed by Wilmer Pacheco, associate professor and extension specialist at Auburn University, who discussed particle size management in concentrated feeds.

The food safety session was led by Dr. Juanfra DeVillena, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety at Wayne-Sanderson Farms, who presented on Salmonella regulations in the US and their impact on the national chicken supply. He was followed by Dr. Jorge Amado, regional technical manager, Aviagen; Vitor Hugo Brandalize, world technical services, Cobb Genetics; and Thomas Dixon, global product manager, Hy-Line International, who guided attendees through the genetics session with their discussion on how declining fertility in breeders is being managed and what is new in layer and broiler genetics and how will it impact production in the next three to five years. This session concluded with a panel discussion that further elaborated these topics.  

For the breeding session, Mike Czarick, agricultural extension specialist at the University of Georgia, provided insights on improvements in ventilation management. He was followed by Dr. Yari Lucerna, a consulting veterinarian, who elaborated on cage and cage-free production in the rearing of laying hens.

The health session was led by Dr. Jean-Pierre Vaillancourt, professor, faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Montreal in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, who began with a discussion on practical biosecurity for all poultry sectors. He was followed by James Karkashian Cordoba, professor at the School of Biology and researcher in Molecular Biology and Animal Nutrition at the University of Costa Rica, who discussed the identification and molecular analysis of avian infectious bronchitis virus and implementation of aerobiological methodologies for the detection and characterization of respiratory viruses in poultry farming.

Karkashian’s research team is the recipient of a research grant provided by the US Poultry & Egg Association's Latin American research program. The funds to support the Latin American research program come from attendee and sponsor support of La Cumbre Avícola Latinoamericana.

Source: IPPE