Page 15 - National Poultry Newspaper

Industry needs additional poultry scientists to tackle disease challenges
MORE young people need to be encour- aged to take up careers in poultry science if the sector is to prop- erly tackle disease challenges that have plagued it for decades, according to a leading academic.
Oscar Fletcher, DVM, PhD and professor of poultry health manage- ment at North Carolina State University, US said he is concerned that over his 50-year ca- reer in poultry science and academia, diseases such as coccidiosis and histomoniasis continue to be a problem for pro- ducers.
And without new people coming into the industry to study and find ways to manage the diseases, he fears they could continue to pose significant problems for producers for years to come.
Speaking to Poultry Health Today, Fletcher said the biggest question for him in the future of poultry disease con- trol is whether there is enough scientific man- power to deal with the issues the poultry indus- try faces.
“I would argue that we don’t,” he said.
“And even though I’m [working] in a place that’s engaged in pro- ducing some of those people, I still have concerns that we don’t have as many scientists working worldwide to solve some of these problems.”
To tackle the issue, Fletcher said universi- ties need to do more to help students recognise that poultry science can
offer interesting and re- warding careers.
“What we’re doing in our institution is look- ing to attract students who have been pre- veterinary students at an undergraduate level and have done that work in poultry science,” he said.
“So they already come to us with an interest in poultry, and we work hard to keep them inter- ested.”
Looking at the chang- es over his career – which includes stints teaching at the Uni- versity of Georgia and North Carolina State, as well as 15 years as dean of both Iowa State University’s and North Carolina State’s veteri- nary colleges – Fletcher said while the diseases he is seeing haven’t nec- essarily changed, birds’ responses to them have.
“Viral tenosynovitis is an example where the
agent was the same... but the clinical presen- tation and the histopa- thology were very dif- ferent over the years,” he said.
To help students man- age change, he said he is focusing on teaching them to recognise basic bird health responses, as well as what’s in the bird that shouldn’t be there.
“In most cases we’re looking for things that are not bird, such as bacteria, fungi, proto- zoa and other parasites,” he said.
“So my basic approach to teaching was to make it less focused on rec- ognising specific dis- eases up front, and get focused on ‘how do you recognise what a bird is telling you?’
“What’s the response to injury?
“And once you do that, you can begin to figure out what might be caus-
ing those responses.” With data making it easier to monitor and diagnose diseases faster than ever before, and consumer demand for poultry products re- maining strong, Fletch- er said there was much to be positive about in the poultry sector – par-
ticularly for producers. “Keep utilising your diagnostic laboratories and veterinary patholo- gists and keep hiring the best people you can
find,” he added.
“And keep attuned to
what the consumer is- sues are.
“You’re producing protein at a relatively low cost to feed a lot of people.
“So, you’re having an impact worldwide and you need to keep up that good work.”
Originally published at poultryhealthtoday. com
More needed to ease farmers’ workforce pain
THE National Farmers’ Federation Horticulture Council acknowledges the Government’s rec- ognition of the chronic workforce shortages facing Australian farm- ers, in an announcement made in the Victorian Mallee region recently.
Led by Agriculture Minister Bridget McKen- zie, the announcement confirmed and slightly expanded a number of the initiatives introduced to address farm workforce shortages over the past 18 months.
The announcement was on the back of the data released by the Victorian Farmers Federation in November, indicating that 28 percent of the work- force in the Sunraysia re- gion was undocumented, demonstrating there was an issue in horticulture that could no longer be overlooked.
NFF CEO Tony Mahar said these measures are a good start but much more is needed.
“Expanding the Sea- sonal Worker Program Pi- lot to provide 1000 more workers to a small region of the country is a step in the right direction,” he said.
“We will be encourag- ing growers to give feed- back to the Government on the successes and fail- ures of the pilot.
“However, it should be seen as another small step on the longer journey to- wards a sustainable agri- cultural workforce.
“For example, though the Sunraysia area has provided a case study for the issues facing the hor- ticulture industry, extend- ing the pilot program to all regions where worker shortages exist would be more meaningful.
Similarly, AUSVEG made a submission on behalf of the horticulture industry for an Industry Labour Agreement to as- sist growers nationwide to access the longer-term, skilled workforce it needs.
However, Mr Mahar said the farm sector was look- ing for a more sophisti- cated approach to a very complex problem.
“While such an ap- proach should include a dedicated initiative, such as tailored migration pro- grams, it should also in- clude initiatives that sup- port cultural change and understanding,” he said.
“Indeed, the current re- gime could mean, in a worst-case scenario, that this announcement may result in yet more com- plexity and confusion, which will only further entrench the challenges facing the sector.”
The NFF suggests the Government should fo- cus on assisting farmers to better understand the workforce options avail- able to them.
“For example, the Gov- ernment is funding the Australian Border Force and Fair Work Ombuds- man to increase compli- ance,” Mr Mahar said.
“We believe this funding would be more effective if it was directed to educat- ing farmers on the labour programs that are avail- able and helping them craft individual workforce solutions on a one-on-one basis rather than prosecut- ing them.
“Family farms may rely on an inefficient – even at times an unlawfully sourced workforce, be- cause they are not aware of and do not understand the viable alternatives.
“A productive use of gov- ernment resources would be a nationwide work- force counselling service with people on the ground who can reach out to in- dividual farms to explain the myriad programs: in- cluding the various itera- tions of the pacific labour
schemes; the working holiday-maker programs; local workforce solutions, VET training incentives; the Harvest Trail Service; and industry labour agree- ments.
“These teams on the ground could work with farmers to design a work- force solution that is best suited to the needs of their business, while helping them to understand and meet their obligations.
“Solving farmers’ work- force challenges is diffi- cult and it won’t happen overnight, but doing so is essential if agriculture is to reach its potential as a $100 billion industry by 2030.
“We appreciate the Gov- ernment taking this small step in the right direc- tion and look forward to a truly national approach, because the farm work- force crisis is not isolated to one state or sector.”
“It would assist mango growers in the Northern Territory as well as veg- etable growers in West-
ern Australia to find the workers they so desper- ately need to pick and pack their produce.” www.poultrynews.com.au
National Poultry Newspaper, December 2019 – Page 15