The Janzen family of Germany is the first winner of the 2016 Cobb Champion Awards, introduced last year to recognize annual world-class performance at breeder, broiler and hatchery level in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The family of Bernd Janzen, who lives in Lower Saxony, won the award in the broiler category, achieving an average weight of 2.718 kg (6.00 lb) at 38 days with a feed conversion of 1.56 with a flock of 320,000 Cobb500 broilers. Those numbers represent a European Production Efficiency Factor of 454.
Janzen, who has been growing broilers for more than 10 years, said, “I have seen ups and downs in all breeds in recent years, but we were most impressed by the performance of the Cobb bird after testing it last year for the first time. The bird delivers and helps me make my business profitable.”
Hendrik Ahlers, sales manager of Cobb Germany, commented, “We see a clear link to our breeding program at Herveld in the Netherlands. These birds, bred in a European environment, deliver precisely what we believe our market needs.”
Patrick van Trijp, Cobb senior accounts manager, added, “In his eight houses of 40,000 each, Bernd Janzen creates an excellent environment that allows the Cobb broiler to perform to its potential.”
“Having good technical performance is one thing, but at the end of the day it is the financial result that makes us choose the Cobb broiler from the hatchery company Probroed and Sloot,” said Ulrich Strätker, an adviser to the farm.
On behalf of Cobb Europe and its distributor Cobb Germany, van Trijp and Ahlers presented the award to the Janzen family. Proboed and Sloot received a trophy and plaque.
