Marlee Moore
(334) 613-4219

Consistency, cooling and poultry house care were hot topics during a May 15 seminar helping poultry farmers prepare for summer. The Alabama Farmers Federation helped sponsor the event, held at Auburn University’s National Poultry Technology Center (NPTC).

Around 40 farmers attended the inaugural seminar, which the Federation’s Guy Hall said he hopes to coordinate twice a year in preparation for seasonal temperature changes. 

“The NPTC is a great resource for Alabama poultry growers to learn how to more efficiently run their operations,”said Hall, the Federation’s Poultry Division director.“The hands-on demonstration will help growers save money on operating expenses, which will increase revenue on their bottom line.”

The NPTC’s Jim Donald said he was excited to bring farmers to the state-of-the-art center, which was partially funded by the Federation.

“The goal of the seminar was to introduce the Alfa grower base to the type of facility we have here and to explain how attending meetings here will help them,” said Donald, the NPTC director. “Our goal is to get their equipment ready for hot weather. These growers need to feel comfortable that they know what to do if they lose power, and this hands-on teaching and applied research house helps them do that.”

Demonstrations touched on evaporative cooling, hot weather ventilation and equipment maintenance. LED lighting demonstrations for optimal growing conditions were also included. Light intensity, angle, uniformity and spacing were stressed as farmers practiced measuring light in the learning center.

Blount County farmer Jeff Maze said he’s hopeful the seminar will yield results on his eight-house poultry operation.

“The NPTC is a smaller-scale house, but the mindset is the same,” Maze said. “With our technology and equipment, something is always improving and changing. Seminars like this keep us updated and help with our costs, which helps us be more profitable, stay in business and provide chicken for the world to eat.”

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