6 tips to ensure a successful poultry field trial

Field trials can help poultry producers get hands on experience with a new product and allow for simultaneous evaluation of many variables.

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Field trials can help poultry producers get hands on experience with a new product and allow for simultaneous evaluation of many variables.

“You need a field trial when you have a new product or problem where the mechanism of action is unknown, widespread industry use or large-scale production data isn’t available or if you have a newly recognized opportunity for a performance challenge,” Elizabeth L. Dale, Head of Veterinary Services at Pilgrim’s explained July 20 during the 2020 Poultry Science Association Virtual Annual Meeting.

Dale shared 6 tips to ensure a successful poultry field trial

Ask questions

Don’t get lost in the sales pitch. Before investing time and money in a field trial, make sure the solution fits your problem.

“After they present their research, do your own. Ask for any research, field data or white papers that a company has. If third party trials have been performed at an academic institution, you can always reach out to the researchers for comment,” Dale said.

Communication is critical

Have a discussion with the most important stakeholders – the ones who will be conducting the field trial. Create an outline that includes information on who does what and determine what kind of data you’re willing to share with the vendor company.

“First and foremost, do you have buy-in from your own team to run a field trial? Make sure all members of your team are informed and on board with the goal of the trial,” said Dale.

“Most importantly, you want to define the metrics of success. What does success mean to you and your team? How will it be measured?”

Trial design

When planning out trials, Dale suggests remembering the acronym KISS – or Keep it Simple Stupid. This will help avoid any overcomplications.

“For me, it’s important to keep trial design very simple, with a detailed protocol. I know that may sound like an oxymoron, but you need the trial to be feasible and practical,” she said.

Control what you can

“Field trials often result in big, messy data, so you want to try to control as many variables as possible,” Dale explained.

In particular, field trials should avoid seasonal transitions where possible. Shifts in daytime light hours or temperature can affect poultry welfare and activity, influencing the results and confusing the data.

Data evaluation

Ultimately, field trials are all about the data.

“When it comes to data evaluation, what data will be actionable to you? This is really critical,” Dale said. “You want to make sure when you set up the trial design that you know which information is most meaningful to your decision-making.”

Decision time

Once the field trial is over, step back and think about the results. Is this the product you want?

“Did the product perform as intended? It’s great if a product has unintended benefits, but it’s most important to make sure a product solves the original problem,” Dale concluded.

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