The AMI Foundation (AMIF) Animal Care and Handling Conference for the Food Industry, the leading animal welfare education opportunity for meat companies, their customers and those involved in the production and management of livestock and meat products, will be held October 19-20, 2011, at the Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Mo.
This highly-rated conference offers a variety of professional development opportunities. Nearly a dozen associations and organizations have collaborated this year to create a program that satisfies an array of attendee needs.
The conference includes three focused tracks: Management and Policy, Applied Pig Handling and Applied Cattle Handling, with a number of new sessions.
Attendees in the Management and Policy track will benefit from sessions on animal handling, new euthanasia guidelines, impacts of well-being and welfare media on meat demand and crushing common myths about the industry.
The Applied Pig Handling and Applied Beef Handling tracks will feature sessions on the relationship between good animal handling practices and quality, as well as a session on animal handling and sustainability, which will address the environmental impact of livestock production.
Additionally, attendees in the Applied Pig Handling track will participate in sessions of best practices for pork production and transportation. The Applied Cattle Handling track will feature sessions highlighting Feedlot 101 and the effects of trailer microclimate and density on carcass quality.
This year’s featured speakers include Temple Grandin, Ph.D., president, Grandin Livestock Handling Systems; Mike Siemens, Ph.D., director of animal welfare and husbandry, Cargill Meat Solutions; Leonard Huskey, director of animal welfare JBS USA; Kellye Pfalzgraf, DVM, director of animal well being, Tyson Foods, Inc.; Chris Raines, Ph.D., assistant professor of meat science and technology, Pennsylvania State University; Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein, Ph.D, scientist, Agriculture & Agri-foods Canada; and Glynn Tonsor, Ph.D., assistant professor of agricultural economics, Kansas State University.
Registration fees for those registering by September 2, 2011 are $475 for members, and $415 when three or more members register together. After September 2, registration rates increase to $525 for members, and $465 when three or more members register together. Registration is $825 for nonmembers.
For a complete agenda and to register, go to meatami.com/ht/d/sp/i/11948/pid/11948.
Co-sponsoring organizations include American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Animal Agriculture Alliance, Food Marketing Institute, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Council of Chain Restaurants, National Dairy FARM Program, National Grocers Association, National Meat Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council and Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization Inc.
Source: AMI
