Fifty participants from 24 countries attended the recent Cobb World Technical School, which featured eight outside visits, hands-on training sessions and 30 speakers.
The two-week event was based at the Cobb global headquarters in Siloam Springs, Ark. The course provided the opportunity to learn about the latest developments of chicken breeding—from grandparent stock production to processing optimization along with current aspects of animal welfare, research, health and nutrition.
“I appreciate that our distributors around the world greatly value places in the technical school for their employees, and we aim to develop a program that combines the more basic skills and knowledge with topical issues facing the chicken industry,” said Joel Sappenfield, president of Cobb. “I was greatly impressed by the enthusiasm of the participants and by the feedback on how much they had enjoyed and learned from the event.”
Dr. Steve Bolden, director of the Cobb World Technical Support Team, commented: “This year’s class was a particularly eager group, as demonstrated by their array of great questions and energetic participation in every topic.
“The students benefited from seeing and hearing the very latest in all disciplines including antibiotic free production and a strong briefing on muscle myopathies. Aside from the academic excellence of the school, lasting friendships were established among the attendees outside of the presentations.”
The program included visits to the Cobb feed mill at Siloam Springs, parent stock and broiler farms, a hatchery, processing plant and Tyson Foods Discovery Center where new food products are researched and developed. Other highlights were a ventilation demonstration and a transportation display.
