The AMI Foundation (AMIF) Animal Care and Handling Conference for the Food Industry, the leading animal welfare education opportunity for meat and poultry companies, their customers and those involved in the production and management of livestock and meat products, will be held October 16-17, 2013, at the Westin Crown Center, Kansas City, Missouri.

This highly-rated conference, now in its 15^th year, 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. General Session topics will include public perception and ethics of animal welfare, a USDA humane handling panel discussion, a look at animal welfare from the customer perspective, and a closing panel discussion featuring teachers and students who have used materials from AMI’s Glass Walls project, which offers the public  “virtual plant tours.”

The conference includes four focused tracks: Focus on Small Plants, Pork, Beef and a Turkey mini-track, a new track which will feature in-depth sessions on turkey welfare, from handling and stunning to auditing and new research from academic and industry experts.

The Small Plant track focuses on the unique animal handling and stunning needs of small plants and will include a session on systematic approach for beginners.

The Pork and Beef tracks offer attendees in-depth instruction by species. Leading academic experts in the field will offer instruction at a range of levels – from beginner to advanced. Their presentations will be complemented by practical insights from industry experts.

The Turkey Mini Track will offer programming for turkey plant personnel and will cover handling, stunning and research.

This year’s featured speakers include Temple Grandin, Ph.D., president, Grandin Livestock Handling Systems; Candace Croney, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Animal Sciences, Purdue University; Mark Crowe, Humane Handling Ombudsman, USDA, Office of Food Safety; Lucy Anthenill, Humane Handling Enforcement Coordinator; Kellye Pfalzgraf, DVM, Tyson Foods, Inc.; Jim Pillen, DVM, Pillen Family Farms; Chuck Bildstein, Product Specialist, Bunzl Distribution; Lily Edwards-Callaway, JBS USA; Erika Voogd, Voogd Consulting, Inc.; Jennifer Woods, Woods Livestock Handling; Ashley Lembke, Director of QA & Food Safety Processing Facilities, American Foods Group, LLC; Rob Elder, Ph.D., Director of HACCP, Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance, Seaboard Foods.

Co-sponsoring organizations include American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Meat Processors, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, Animal Agriculture Alliance, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Dairy FARM Program, National Grocers Association, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Board, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, North American Meat Association, and Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization Inc.

Registration rates are $575 for members, and $515 when three or more members register together. Registration is $875 for nonmembers.

For a complete agenda and to register: http://www.meatami.com/ht/d/sp/i/11948/pid/11948

Source: AMIF