Disease prevention, better use of data and a more proactive approach to managing risk were among the themes that stood out for the Livetec team at this year’s Poultry Network Live.
The event brought together producers, vets, suppliers and poultry specialists to discuss some of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector. Across several of the sessions, one message came through particularly strongly: preventing problems before they happen remains one of the most effective ways to protect bird health, welfare and business resilience.
Biosecurity needs to be proactive
Livetec Biosecurity Team Manager Jack Hughes joined the conference programme to talk about practical biosecurity and the steps poultry businesses can take to reduce the risk of disease entering and spreading across their sites.
His message was straightforward: effective biosecurity is not simply about responding when disease risk increases or an outbreak occurs.
It comes from understanding where vulnerabilities exist, putting appropriate controls in place and, importantly, making sure those measures work as part of everyday farm management.
That message was echoed elsewhere during the event. In one of the veterinary sessions, the discussion turned to the value of working proactively with producers – developing plans, reviewing biosecurity and identifying preventative measures rather than waiting until a disease problem requires a response.
For Jack, that alignment was encouraging.
“Biosecurity works best when it becomes part of how a site operates every day. You can have plans and procedures in place, but they need to be practical, understood by the people using them and consistently followed.
“A lot of what we talked about during the day came back to that same point – understanding your risks and doing what you can now to reduce them, rather than waiting until you have a problem.”
It is an approach that closely reflects Livetec’s own 4P framework of Prediction, Planning, Preparedness and Prevention – looking beyond individual interventions to consider how different elements of biosecurity work together.
Better information can support better decisions
Technology and data were another recurring theme.
One discussion highlighted the increasing amount of information that can now be collected from poultry production systems – including environmental and sensor data alongside more traditional production records.
The important development isn't simply that more data is available. It is what can be done when different sources of information begin to connect.
Changes in water consumption, ventilation, environmental conditions and production performance can potentially provide a much richer picture of what is happening within a poultry unit. Bringing those datasets together could increasingly help businesses identify patterns, spot changes earlier and make better-informed decisions.
Livetec Technical Director Julian Sparrey said:
“We've talked for some time about the potential of bringing different sources of information together, so it was interesting to hear examples of that becoming increasingly embedded within poultry production.
“The opportunity is not just to collect more data. It is to understand what that information is telling us and how we can use it to make better decisions. As systems become more connected, I think that will become an increasingly important part of how the industry manages both performance and risk.”
Moving from reactive to preventative
Taken together, the discussions at Poultry Network Live point towards a broader shift.
Whether the subject was veterinary support, biosecurity, disease management or technology, there was a common emphasis on gaining better visibility of what is happening and acting earlier.
Technology alone cannot prevent disease. Neither can a biosecurity plan that sits unused on a shelf. Effective prevention comes from combining good information, practical planning and consistent behaviour on farm.
That means understanding the risks specific to an individual business, reviewing controls rather than assuming they continue to work, preparing for situations before they happen and giving people the tools and knowledge they need to act.
For Livetec, these are not separate conversations. They are increasingly connected parts of building more resilient poultry businesses.
Poultry Network Live provided another valuable opportunity to hear directly from across the sector, share experiences and discuss how producers can continue moving from response towards prevention.
And if there was one message worth taking away from the day, it was a simple one: the best time to manage a risk is before it becomes a problem.