Executives from Tyson Foods, Yum Brands and Costco Wholesale discussed the use of antibiotics in meat and poultry products and consumer trust during a panel session at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) Antibiotics Symposium.

A two-year run of high profitability for U.S. broiler producers is coming to an end in 2016 due to trade restrictions and rising protein supplies.

As it prepares to release the final restrictions on a few U.S. farms, USDA is shoring up trade relations in the wake of the HPAI outbreaks. APHIS officials have been visiting crucial trading partners in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The main topics of discussion are the recognition of zoning in trade restrictions and the potential use of vaccines in disease eradication efforts should there be another HPAI outbreak.

Aquaculture is a protein sector destined to compete head-on with poultry for share of the U.S. consumer’s stomach due to its efficient feed conversion and healthy food status. It’s a question of when seafood farmers will be able to commercialize and adopt technologies still under development to increase production and bring down prices.

John Carey, Texas A&M University, discussed seven key areas of live production for successful antibiotic-free poultry production in the webinar, “Antibiotic-free poultry production requires teamwork.” In the webinar, presented by WATT Global Media and sponsored by Jones-Hamilton Company, Dr. Carey focused on live-production basics of high importance to antibiotic-free (ABF) poultry production.

Who is involved in a successful antibiotic-free (ABF) poultry production program? Everyone involved with live production in the poultry complex, according to Dr. John Carey, Texas A&M University. Speaking in the webinar, “Antibiotic-free poultry production requires teamwork,” Carey said successful ABF poultry production starts in the hatchery and on the farm before chicks or poults reach the brooding chamber, includes every phase of live production from the feed mill to the breeder operation, and involves growers, nutritionists and veterinarians.

Robots are not being adopted in the U.S. poultry processing industry at the same rate as many other industrial sectors. Why are U.S. poultry producers standing on the sidelines while robotics is being more widely adopted many other industries, including Europe’s poultry industries?

Four U.S. poultry industry experts corrected misconceptions about how and why antibiotics and feed fillers are used (or not used) in broiler production in a question-and-answer session with the media earlier in 2015 at the Chicken Media Summit.

U.S. broiler margins have been profitable for all but three quarters over the last four years, but they are projected to turn to losses beginning in the fourth quarter of 2015 and through 2016.

The fact that the Simmons Foods Southwest City Complex has not had a notice of violation of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit in 14 years is a marvelous achievement in a corner of the world where environmental issues are under unceasing political and regulatory spotlight.

Managers at Tyson Foods River Valley Animal Foods are exploring the option of using recycled water from the wastewater facility in the scrubbers at the rendering facility. If this use proves feasible, it would allow the facility to reuse another 75,000 to 100,000 gallons of water per day -- a savings of 20 million to 26 million gallons of city water per year.