The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) is sponsoring two related conferences in mid-March in Kansas City, MO.
The AMIF and the Animal Transportation Association will host its second annual Livestock Transportation Conference March 17, 2009 at the Westin Crown Center.
Highlights include:
--Alberta Livestock Industry’s Proactive Approach to Transportation with Susan Church, manager, Alberta Farm Animal Care;
--Transportation Audits with livestock handling specialist Jennifer Woods of Alberta, Canada;
--Cross-Border Collaboration: How the United States and Canada have teamed up on animal welfare enforcement during transportation with Joey Astling of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service;
--Pig Transportation Research with Cate Dewey, University of Guelph, Canada; and
--Trailer Design and Transport Losses with Matt Ritter of Elanco Animal Health.
AMIF’s Animal Care & Handling Conference is March 18-19 at the Westin Crown Center.
Sessions March 18 include:
--The ABC’s of Pigs for Novices and First-Time Attendees with Glee Goodner, corporate manager of animal welfare and handling, Hormel Foods Corp.;
--Animal Handling – the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Perspective with Ron DeHaven, AVMA executive vice president;
--A Look at Consumer Behavior and Attitudes with AMI’s Janet Riley; Tim Amlaw, American Humane Association; Rick McCarty, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; and Adele Douglass, Certified Humane;
--Stunning Pigs and Determining Insensibility with Temple Grandin of Colorado State University, Chuck Bildstein of Bunzl Distribution USA, Inc., and Colette Kaster of Farmland Foods, Inc.; and
--Handling Challenges: Slows and Fatigues with Jen Greiner, DVM, National Pork Producers Council and Barb Masters, DVM, Olsson, Frank and Weeda.
Sessions March 19 include:
--Animal Handling Problem-Solving in Beef and Pork Slaughter Plants with Temple Grandin;
--Transportation Audits – Review of New Audits with Jennifer Woods;
--Fitness to Transport with Susan Church;
--New Research: Lactate Levels in Pigs under Stress with Lily Murray of Colorado State University; and
--Systematic Approaches to Animal Handling with Jerry Karczewski, Cargill Meat Solutions; Dean Danilson, Tyson Foods; and Craig Morris, USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.