Ideas Exchange began with an update from industry with talks from both the chicken meat and egg sectors. Not surprisingly the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines was a hot topic and provided some great discussion. Following these talks we had a panel session that was focused on training and attracting the next generation to our industry. Did you know that generation Z will have on average 17 jobs across 5 different careers and only stay in one job for around 18 months? Such a contrast to many of us currently in the poultry industry. These figures certainly evoked quite the discussion and the panel was kept on their toes with regard to how the poultry industry will go moving forward, given we already have some challenges with attracting staff. I wonder if we need to have a shift in our thinking in terms of what the next generation is wanting out of a job and how we can adapt to their needs and aspirations.
It was fantastic to hear the science updates from our open call for research projects. The researchers highlighted the importance and impact that science can have in our industry. It was also evident that the inclusion of an industry partner at the inception of every project is certainly ensuring that projects stay on track and have relevance in the industry. Lastly the conference finished with our “Brains Trust” session, a question answer session where all participants were able to answer anonymously a set of pertinent questions for our industry. We have been running this session for a few years now and it was very interesting to see how the responses have changed or remained the same over this time. While in 2019 getting people to work in the poultry industry was voted as the biggest problem that our industry faces, this year sustainability was the top response.
PHA would like to thank all who were involved in making this year’s conference a success. We look forward to next year’s conference which will be held in Adelaide, details to be announced early in 2023. If you have any questions about our conference or interesting topics to cover contact us at poultryhub@une.edu.au.
