The poultry industry must think big and look for exciting solutions to help the world solve its food and resource problems, said Pearse Lyons, Alltech's founder and president, at the annual Alltech breakfast at the 2012 International Poultry Expo on January 25.
"We are having a revolution, not just in our industry, but across the world," said Lyons. "The Arab Spring and the Euro crisis may be creating uncertainty, but in the midst of this, nonsexy agriculture is growing, with poultry leading the way throughout the world."
Meanwhile the escalation in feed prices is creating new challenges for the poultry industry, making the adoption of modern science and technology more important than ever. "When times are easy, a monkey could lead you company," said Lyons. "When times are challenging, we must have great leaders. Steve Jobs said, 'get out there and make a dent in the universe, otherwise why be here'."
Lyons discussed the advances Alltech is making in areas of epigenetics. "Science is giving us a while new insight to nutrition," he said. "We are switching on the genes to improve the animal naturally. We wouldn't have known how to do this three years ago." The results of this, according to Lyons, will give the poultry industry the opportunity to improve efficiency, reduce waste and deliver and higher-quality, more nutritious meat.
