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Predictions for Commercial Poultry Nutrition

Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1

Correspondence: ¹ Corresponding author: sleeson{at}uoguelph.ca

The meat and egg industries have undergone remarkable change over the last 30 yr, and it seems that this will continue, albeit at a slightly reduced rate, over the next 10 to 20 yr. The Americas and Asia will continue to meet world demand, and the only real challenge to the dominance of global poultry meat production will come from the swine industry. Broilers and layers in general are remarkably healthy, and we are now seeing unprecedented low levels of mortality. Our current success is due to genetic selection, availability of efficacious vaccines and antibiotics, and a growing awareness of the importance of biosecurity and general farm hygiene. An emerging area of concern in poultry nutrition is the accumulation of Zn and Cu in soil, and this may attract legislation regarding manure composition. Likewise, there is emphasis on quantitating NH₃ release from many industries including agriculture. We are unlikely to see any major change in nutrient needs of broilers and layers over the next 20 yr. On the other hand, diet formulation, feeding programs, and production goals are continually changing, and these factors affect the work of poultry nutritionists. Our future roles will be governed by the need to accommodate ever-increasing genetic potential, the demand for simple diets devoid of most pharmaceutical products, and the effect of poultry products on human health. Traceability of meat and eggs is inevitable either through legislation or through marketing strategies. Such traceability will require accountability of the composition of poultry feeds. At best, quality control programs at feed mills provide information that is incorporated in a historical database. The feed industry will be compelled to develop real-time feed analysis.

Key Words: diet formulation • feeding program • production goal • human health • environment • traceability