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focus W O R L D W I D E

C HA N GI NG C ON S UM ER P ER CE P TI ON O F F AR M RE AR ED C H IC KE N
THREE 2011

in this issue
K&Ns leads industry Zambia: Hybrid Poultry 50 years on..........................3
Balkans: Agroziv moving ahead................................3

growth in Pakistan Compartmentalization: Global perspective...4 & 5


Seminars around the world...................................6 & 7

small broiler farm with 1000 chicks in 1964. News of our people...........................................................8
The growth of Cobb distributor K&Ns in
Pakistan has provided a model for the At that time there was no commercial US flock awards.................................................................8
development of the countrys poultry poultry production in Pakistan. All
chickens were backyard poultry known as
industry which rates among the top ten
Desi, grown mainly by families in small producers with day-old pullet chicks. His
producers in the world. More than 45
numbers around their own homes in the aim was also to put the industry on a
years ago Khalil Sattar recognised the
villages. sound footing, making it commercially
potential to move from domestic to Pakistan was a young independent viable.
industry scale production and his nation, and malnutrition was a
company has triumphed through many major problem, with one out of
ups and downs in the market. four children dying before the
age of five. Poultry would
Today K&Ns is the epitome of a fully provide the quickest and least
vertically integrated poultry business from expensive source of the protein
the production of Cobb parent stock to needed to improve nutrition
the chain of highly rated K&Ns Chicken and Khalil Sattar had the vision
Stores selling chicken and value-added to see this potential.
chicken products in 15 of the largest cities His first flock was reared
in Pakistan. in a spare shed at his familys
It was all so different when the founder, edible oil business. His success
Khalil Sattar, a college student, began a in selling these broilers to
local hotels
encouraged him
to expand his farming His initial venture with layers took him
activities, confounding the to the Babcock Corporation located in
perception at the time Ithaca, upstate New York. Since 1974,
that farm grown chickens through an exclusive franchise agreement,
were inferior to backyard K&Ns is the sole producer and distributor
poultry or birds bought at of Babcock pullet chicks for Pakistans
the roadside and slaughtered market.
under Halal rules in front Broiler breeding began in 1981 to
of the customer. increase the supply of day-old broiler
However, this was very chicks to commercial broiler farmers.
much a start-up venture At that time K&Ns was selling broiler
for Khalil. With availability chicks to farmers who grew them up to
of day-old chicks limiting 5-6 weeks. The business focus then was
industry growth, he on increasing volume - important
decided in 1974 to move commercially for K&Ns but also
Adil Sattar (second left) and his father Khalil (second right) with
Duncan Granshaw and Mohammad Ismail of Cobb at one of into breeding and, developing a strong backbone for the
K&Ns stores in Lahore. Above, possibly the worlds largest chick regarding eggs as the best industry.
billboards - 18 x 6m (60 x 20ft) - as displayed in Karachi, form of protein, he began
Lahore and Islamabad supplying commercial egg continued on page 2
DISTRIBUTOR PROFILE: K&Ns, PAKISTAN

continued from page 1


In 2001 K&Ns returned to broiler growing
with larger scale, controlled-environment
facilities, which laid the foundation for
this type of production in Pakistan.
Up to then most producers had less than
5,000 broilers per shed, fed them manually
and usually housed birds in thatched roof
sheds.
Currently K&Ns has six broiler growing
facilities, each with capacity for 250-
300,000 birds. The Cobb 500 broilers are
grown to 36 days, averaging 1.87 kg with
a 1.75 to 1.85 feed conversion ratio.
For all the farms and other operations
back-up generators are essential as power
breakdowns occur regularly, can be
unpredictable and last six to eight hours at
times.
K&Ns s t r o n g c o m m i t m e n t t o
cooperation and industry development Top, K&Ns processing plant; bottom, its
encouraged new entrepreneurs, pushing up companies even giving away day-old grandparent farm near Abbottabad
demand for day-old broiler chicks. This broiler chicks against a production cost of
lead to increased placement of parent over Rs 20 per chick. Consequently, almost
40% of producers closed, reducing the quality pellets and high density feed which
stock, so that in 2007 Pakistan was one of
supply of day-old chicks and increasing could not be readily and extensively made
the top ten poultry producers in the world
their price. As demand recovered there was available in the country with the marginal
with over eight million broiler parent stock
a shortage of parent stock. nature of nutrition, says Adil Sattar,
producing more than 800 million birds a
This led in 2008 to K&Ns reaching an executive director of K&Ns.
year.
agreement to become a Cobb grandparent Broilers of other breeds did not compete
The expansion had also been triggered
franchise producing Cobb 500 parent stock well as we found the Cobb 500 broiler to
by high prices following the drastic drop
for their own breeding programme and be the most cost effective. On the breeding
in production in 2004/05 when Pakistan
supplying other breeding companies to side, Cobb parent stock performed as well
suffered badly from bird flu.
help rebuild the industry. as any other and consequently we chose
With over production in 2007/8 and a
The decision was made after split- Cobb.
reported bird flu case in a remote area,
house trials with both Cobb and We feel that with Cobb 500 in Pakistan
poultry prices crashed once again. Add to
competitor breeds, assessing parent stock we can contribute positively towards
this a 68% increase in feed cost and heavy
performance, broiler feed conversions and enabling farmers to produce a live kg of
losses were made with a 40% reduction in
growth rates, says Khalil Sattar, chairman chicken at least cost and in the most
production in 2008/09.
and chief executive of K&Ns. efficient manner.
Day-old chick price at the end of 2008
We discovered the closest international In 2011/12 K&Ns expects to produce 80
dropped to (Pakistani Rupees) Rs. 1-4
competitor of Cobb required superior million layer and broiler chicks.
(2008 Rs 80 = US$1) with some breeding
In the 1960s and 1970s, obtaining safe,
reliable sources of poultry feed was an
insurmountable challenge in Pakistan. This
led Khalil to set up his own feed mill to
produce feed for K&Ns operations at
Karachi in 1971. With the growing need of
feed for the integrated production
operations in Central Punjab province and
Northern areas of the country, a feed mill
established by a multi-national company
at Lahore, was acquired by K&Ns to take
advantage of low cost feed ingredients
available in the Central part of Pakistan.
The growth of commercial poultry
production through the decades changed
the mindset of consumers towards farm
raised broilers and eggs, helped by lower
prices and greater availability. Today Desi
continued on page 3
2
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

50 years on - Hybrid Poultry poised for further success


by ROY MUTIMER, general manager, their partnership with
Cobb Europe Cobb as a grandparent
distributor.
It was a real privilege to be present at the It was apparent to me
50th anniversary celebrations of Hybrid that Hybrid take seriously
Poultry in Lusaka, Zambia in June. their responsibilities to
This is an outstanding commercial provide the population
milestone and it was clear from the with an affordable source
publicity surrounding the event that of protein. It was also
Hybrid have established themselves as a fantastic to learn of their
key player in the agricultural community strong commitment to
and are widely recognized for their train and develop their
contribution to the Zambian economy. It team members to ensure
was great that this milestone also the long-term security and
coincided with the 10th Anniversary of growth of the company.
The extremely impressive
performance from their
continued from page 2 Cobb 500 grandparents
chicken and eggs are produced in lower shows the value of this training regime. makes Hybrid well positioned to take
volumes and considered more of a While it is nice to know that the Cobb advantage of future development
delicacy. genetic potential has contributed to opportunities. That said, Hybrid have
Yet the strength of the live/wet chicken Hybrids overall success, it is a real credit really posed our geneticists a challenge in
market culture, the negligible overheads of to their team that they have managed to terms of developing a bigger bird with the
roadside sales - a butchers knife costs less capture this advantage to the benefit statue they have erected on a roundabout
than US$1 - and the reassurance of Halal of themselves and their wide customer in Lusaka, as shown.
slaughter remain significant influences base. We thank Richard Keeley and the rest of
slowing the uptake of processing, says Adil In addition to investing in their people, his team for the outstanding hospitality
Sattar. Hybrid continues to make very significant they extended to Pelayo, Mark and me
Practical problems, particularly the investments in their facilities, as shown by during our visit and we wish them every
limited availability of cool chain facilities the recently completed upgrades to their future success as they continue to build on
and frequent power breakdowns, have to processing plant and the acquisition of a their impressive achievements.
be overcome with production and large, isolated green field site for Although I somehow doubt I will be
distribution of processed products construction of their new grandparent around, I am extremely confident that
inevitably involving high overheads. farm. someone will be drafting a similarly
Earlier, within our industry, poultry Fueled by copper exports, the Zambian upbeat article about Hybrids centenary
processing was considered a non-viable economy is in a healthy state and this celebrations in 2061!
poultry business activity as many firms
had tried but ended up closing down their
operations, says Adil. At K&Ns, we
endevoured to develop the market, and
other companies are now looking to start Agroziv seeking to regain leadership
processing operations.
Today chicken is the most popular
protein source in Pakistan, primarily
in Balkans
through the industrys growth and success The largest Serbian poultry meat producer, Agroziv was purchased last December by
leading to lower cost and widespread Agroziv, from the northern town of the national gas company Srbijagas.
availability, with per capita consumption Zitiste, is planning to become again a A new management team has been put in
about 7 kg (15.4 lb) per year. The tradition major player in the Balkans following the place at Agroziv, the former regional
is to eat chicken at home, always skinless import of a substantial Cobb 500 breeder market leader in chicken production, and
cooked in curries, with rice or barbecued. flock during the last week of May. is now investing in further development
Restaurants offer local cuisine including The breeders arrived in excellent and modernization at all levels.
a variety of curries, barbecue dishes and condition and have made a very good Cobb is being recognized as a stairway
different types of rice, with a number of start in life, says Lubor Skalka, technical to a bright future for Agroziv, says James
upmarket cafes and restaurants serving manager of Cobb Germany, which Truscott, director of Cobb Germany. The
western cuisine and many of the supplied the chicks. He was pleased how Cobb 500 will help the company reduce
international fast food caterers such as well the houses had been renovated and their meat production costs and become
McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Nandos, prepared for the chicks. once again the major player in the
Hardees and Subway also present. After years of financial difficulty, Balkans.
3
COMPARTMENTALIZATION: THE NEXT STEPS

Preparing for the inevitable with


reassurances in place
by Dr KATE BARGER, veterinary groups and quality assurance for the specific details required for
manager/veterinarian at Cobb Europe infrastructure, training of
independent government staff to
When first proposed by the OIE (the world or regional disease assess and approve sites, and
organisation for animal health) some freedom assurances the notification of approved
six years ago, the concept of cannot be authorized. compartments.
compartmentalization was designed to Secondly, for disease In various cases, implementation
provide an additional level of confidence control or eradication Stage 2 has been a joint effort
and credential beyond geographical procedures, progressive between industry and government.
borders or zones traditionally adopted compartmentalization With the elite poultry breeding
during a notifiable disease outbreak. steps in a country may industry, exporting companies
With compartmentalization, industry enable a more strategic have a clear understanding
and governments not only consider the approach for government of the need to have qualified
physical boundaries but also the risk analysis and disease prevention biosecurity systems to help ensure that
epidemiological factors, including methods within a geographic area. trade disruptions are limited in the event
management practices and biosecurity, that While the purported benefits are of a disease crisis within the country of
help define an effective separation between straightforward for exporting countries, origin.
subpopulations in the event of disease. importing countries and suppliers of For governments, having approved
The concept is aimed at helping with valuable commodities, implementation has compartments for a defined subspecies
international trade and disease control been more challenging. may not only improve the quantity and
during an active disease crisis episode in frequency of disease surveillance within
the exporting country. Qualified biosecurity systems the subpopulation, but should also provide
For trading during a disease crisis, The OIE has clearly provided a greater transparency and traceability of
compartmentalization can help with the framework for compartments, but the livestock with regards to biosecurity and
movement of commodities where country responsibility lies with individual countries epidemiological factors.

Compartment expectations
To implement compartments, countries
have responded in different ways to set up
the procedures and assessments for their
approved compartments.
Some governments are using the OIE
standards as a basic outline for
compartmentalization. By only utilizing
the OIE standards as the primary
framework for their compartments,
these governments allow companies to
demonstrate the robustness of their
biosecurity programs, epidemiologic links
and disease surveillance systems to meet
the OIE definitions for compartments.
Other governments have additionally
provided industry with stringent criteria
to eliminate potential areas of self-
interpretation or leniency. These strict
guidelines include clearly defined
checklists for biosecurity and management
procedures, expectations for facility
infrastructure, surveillance testing and
biosecurity measures that go well beyond
the basic framework of the OIE criteria.
A final example of Stage 2
implementation is the EU compartment
Epidemiologic isolation of farms is important for disease prevention. Biosecurity measures and standard that provides benchmark criteria
compliance are, however, essential for compartment approval for EU member countries. These EU
4
COMPARTMENTALIZATION: THE NEXT STEPS

during the time of disease freedom. This


period - essentially the calm before the
storm - is vital to many exports and to
proving that the compartments are
sustainable.
To facilitate this phase of understanding
between governments for the purpose of
international trade, small changes are
already taking place. For example,
updating export health certificates to
include the text compartment in
statements related to disease freedom is
just a portion of the work that needs to be
completed.
For the actual recognition and approval
of compartments to take place, the
exporting government must be transparent
with the standards and assessments
they have provided to approve the
compartment, and also be willing to
openly share this information with the
Strict procedures for vehicles and personnel entry are critical to ensure epidemiologic separation importing government.
By sharing this information in advance
Standards are more specific and provide compartment scheme. Presentations for recognition of the compartment, the
additional detail to basic OIE criteria. highlighted the UKs collaborative effort ultimate goal will be to avoid blanket
Once the national or governmental between government and industry to country-wide restrictions and lengthy
requirements are known, industries and determine the necessary criteria for trade delays during notifiable disease
individual companies can begin to compartments and the actual situations. This was the original goal when
implement Stage 2 by actively developing implementation and approval of the OIE began work on compartments
the documentation and implementing compartments for poultry breeding years ago, and is still the goal for industry
biosecurity measures to meet any companies located in Great Britain. and governments today.
additional compartment standards In a perfect world there will be no need
expected by their governments. As Calm before the storm for a Stage 4 the real test of the
companies complete their internal work While events like this to promote the compartment concept during a disease
and achieve compartment recognition by compartment process are vital, speakers crisis. But, as we all know, it is best to be
the veterinary authority of the country also stated that importing/exporting prepared for the inevitable and to have
where their production locations are governmental discussions about additional reassurances in place long
situated, compartmentalization can then compartments must now take place before they will be needed!
become a reality.
Establishing operations as compartments
elevates the company and the industry to
a higher status of biosecurity and health
during times of disease occurrence.
While the process and implementation is
indeed a burden and requires an incredible
amount of attention to detail, most
companies have found that these
requirements have improved the objectives
and assessments of their daily
management procedures as well as
transparency of their biosecurity actions.
The next step for compartmentalization
is Stage 3 and will critically
demonstrate the functionality of approved
compartments. This phase involves
recognition, and in some cases evaluation,
of the defined compartment by the
importing country. At the recent May 2011
OIE meeting in Paris, a luncheon meeting
was attended by approximately 165 OIE
delegates to learn more about the UK
5
SEMINARS AROUND THE WORLD

Seminars are a very useful way of updating customers with the latest technical advice, as well as enabling them to share experiences
and make new contacts. We report on the series of seminars organised by Cobb and our distributors through recent months.

Out and about in Friesland Middle East seminar


As part of the commitment to provide
world-leading support to customers, Cobb
for practical demonstrations. focuses on success
The 18 members of the Cobb family who
Europe hosted their technical seminar in gave presentations during the five-day in hot climate
Friesland in northern Holland. event were joined by two
Our customers did us proud and industry experts - Dr Ron The challenges of successful broiler
we had excellent representation Meijerhof who spoke about the growing in a hot climate was the theme of
from grandparent distributors effect on incubation on broiler a Cobb Europe seminar for 40 Middle East
and parent stock customers, performance and Dr Tony customers in the Mzaar mountain resort in
writes Euan Meldrum, Cobb Marangos on optimal broiler Lebanon.
Europe marketing manager. nutrition for the Cobb products. Cobb Europe sales and technical director
Delegates came from all parts of the Capturing the lifestyle in Friesland, the Pelayo Casanovas, the first of eight
Europe Middle East Africa region from group learned how much the sea and canals speakers, spoke about how Cobb serves the
Ireland to Saudi Arabia and Sweden to influence the day-to-day activities of global market and how its products are
South Africa. The programme was devised local people and enjoyed an afternoons gaining share in the European, Middle East
for them to learn about specific aspects of competitive sailing, with graduation and and African region.
poultry production with practical visits and dinner in the historic capital of the region,
presentations each day, Leeuwarden, on the final evening.
The first day covered
industry matters around
the world along with
economics of poultry
production. Days two and
three saw the delegates
split into broiler or
breeder groups and
covering hatchery and
production. The days Regional sales manager Mohammed
following covered health Chail gave an update on the markets within
and ventilation, including the Middle East, then Cobb geneticist Gosse
a visit to the Pluimvee- Veninga looked into what to expect from
praktijk Noord & Oost Cobb products in the future.
(North and East of Technical topics from the Cobb Europe
Holland Poultry Practice) team made up the majority of the
presentations with Mark Foote from the UK
discussing incubation principles and
factors influencing broiler performance.
Czech group visits headquarters Broiler nutrition was covered by consultant
Dr Tony Marangos, while Cobb Europe
A visit to the Cobb-Vantress headquarters in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, USA, provided technical manager Matthew Wilson shared
Pavel Visek and Milos Zima (pictured fourth and third from right) from the Xavergen global experiences on growing broilers in a
group in the Czech Republic with an insight into how the company is expanding to meet feed efficient and successful way.
growing demand for the Cobb 500. Cobb Europe veterinarian Dr Andre
The visitors discussed with Cobbs senior management group the changing markets Derkx talked about disease prevention
around the world and its increasing measures and how to read the signs of
investment in both research and infectious viral diseases and vaccination
production facilities, helping to secure programs, getting the right one for each
the continuing advance in breeder and circumstance.
broiler performance. They also saw US Cobb regional technical manager
production facilities in Missouri. Mohamad Kallas commented: I am
Mr Truscott commented: Im delighted to have so many of our
extremely pleased that our customer in customers with us in Lebanon. The group
the Czech Republic is achieving 141 gained knowledge not only from my
chicks per breeder and sees the demand colleagues but also from each other, facing
for Cobb broilers increasing so that similar conditions and challenges in their
more breeders are being placed. own markets.
6
SEMINARS AROUND THE WORLD

Great future forecast for Ukrainian chicken industry


The growing importance of Ukraine as a chicken-producing country was
reflected in support for the Cobb Germany two-day seminar in Cherkasy
on the banks of the River Dniper.
Cherkasy was chosen because the region is the leading producer of
broiler meat in Ukraine, and provides the location for one of Europes
largest broiler complexes - Myronivski belonging to Mironivskij
Hleboprodukt.
Opening the event James Truscott, Cobb Germany director, said that in
10 years the Cobb 500 had become the market leader in Ukraine.
We are grateful to Cobb Germany it not only supplies excellent
service but the product we need, the Cobb 500, commented Maxim
Pisarev, Mironivskij Hleboprodukt director of production.
Many young people were among the delegates. Their keen interest
shows why Ukraine is becoming a leader in supplying quality chicken
meat, added Mr Truscott. The country has a great future ahead of it with
skilled specialists running the large production facilities.

World technical Renowned specialists for Cobb


school proves its Hungarian seminar
value More than 80 Cobb customers and other
key players from the Hungarian chicken
providing for the chicks temperature
needs (consultant Dr Ron Meijerhof),
Forty four participants from 25 countries meat industry came together for the heat stress related to different climatic
(pictured below) took part in the 12th two-day seminar near Inrcs, near conditions (Dr Andrea Molnr) and the
world technical school organized by Budapest, to hear presentations from importance of ventilation in achieving
Cobb-Vantress at Siloam Springs, the world renowned specialists. good environmental conditions
Arkansas, USA. The event, organised by Cobb (Matthew Wilson, Cobb Europe technical
This year for the first time other Germany at the Bodrogi Kria Hotel, was manager).
customers were able to share in some of introduced by director James Truscott Winfridus Bakker, parent stock
the live presentations through a webcast and Lszl Korsi, sales manager for specialist in the team, explained how to
which can still be accessed through the Hungary, who said the aim was to help achieve top results during the peak
companys website. customers take full advantage of the production of a Cobb 500 parent flock,
A feature of the 12-day program is the Cobb 500 genetic potential. while nutritionist Tony Marangos
number of case studies presented to the Technical presentations covered the discussed nutritional strategies for these
school. We introduced case studies importance of accurate incubation in flocks.
several years ago and they now play a
central role in giving the participants real
life experience of specific issues on the always receive very positive feedback University of Arkansas, breeder and
farm and at the hatchery, said Gail about their value in terms of sharing broiler farms, a hatchery, processing plant
Thorp, Cobb production administrator contacts between customers in different and the Tyson Foods Discovery Center as
who organized the event. countries as well as learning and updating well as presentations by members of the
Weve more than doubled the size of technical knowledge. Cobb World Technical Support Team and
the school since they began and we The program included visits to the invited specialists.

7
NEWS OF OUR PEOPLE

Poultry Federation
honor for Jerry Moye Flock survey award for Georges
Georges Inc, located in Springdale, Arkansas, was the recipient of the US
Jerry Moye, president
Cobb 500 Sold Flock Survey Award.
of Cobb-Vantress, was
The award is given to the top producing complex with the highest average total
n a m e d t h e 2 0 11
eggs per hen housed. Chance Bryant and Bob Ickes from Cobb presented the award
Industry Leader of the
to Ricky Pinkerton, Georges breeder manager.
Year by the Poultry
Chance Bryant comments: George's breeder personnel have worked very
Federation during the
hard, remained focused on the basics and functioned as a team, making
52nd Annual Poultry
tremendous improvements over the last few years to achieve this performance.
Festival in Ro gers,
We congratulate them on earning this well deserved award."
Arkansas, USA.
The award formerly
titled Man of the Year
has been awarded since 1955 and recognizes
the outstanding achievements of poultry and
egg executives and their contribution to the
industry.
Jerry completed in 2010 a three-year term on
the Poultry Federations board of directors and
is currently serving another term - he is one of
the very few directors to serve two consecutive
terms as chairman.
During his tenure, there was never a job too
small or too large for him to tackle and his
leadership as chairman is well recognized,
says the Federation.

Roger and his wife Joan, who have two studying diet and hybrid interactions in
Joining the team sons and a daughter, will be relocating laying hens.
to Northwest Arkansas.
Roger Vessell, who has Cesar Coto has joined the
been appointed director Dr Annsofie Wahlstrm has Cobb North America Technical
of world marketing for been appointed as nutritionist Service Team, responsible for
Cobb-Vantress, brings for Cobb Europe to serve providing technical advice to
over 26 years of sales and customers in Europe, the Middle customers throughout Central
marketing experience. East and Africa and also be America and the Caribbean.
He has been senior involved in nutritional aspects Cesar, who has been a
marketing manager for of research. technical manager for DSM
the past five years with For the past seven years she Nutritional Products in this
Holt Caterpillar at San has been working with Swedens same region, is a graduate of the University
Antonio, Texas. largest feed company, Lantmannen of Arkansas where he completed a PhD in
Previously he was vice president - Lantbruk, where she was poultry science in 2010 as program
sales and marketing with Columbia poultry feed nutritionist associate in the laboratory of Dr Park
300 in San Antonio and held brand and product manager for Waldroup.
management positions with Rawlings broiler, turkey and breeder He began his studies with a five-year
Sporting Goods. diets. program in animal science in his native
He obtained his BSc in social She gained a masters Costa Rica and after an initial two-year
sciences from the University of degree in animal science period with DSM resumed his studies at
Missouri Rolla, and is currently from SLU, the Swedish the University of Arkansas, gaining an
completing his MBA from Missouri University of Agriculture, MS in poultry science and then in
State University. and then a PhD In 1999 agribusiness.

Cobb-Vantress, Inc Tel: +1 479 524 3166 Email: info@cobb-vantress.com


Cobb Europe Ltd Tel: +44 1206 835835 Email: info@cobb-europe.com
cobb-vantress.com
Cobb-Vantress Brasil, Ltda Tel: +55 (17)3267 9999 Email: cobb.info@cobb-vantress.com
Cobb-Vantress Philippines Inc Tel: +63 2 634 3590

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