ATLANTA — As part of the USPOULTRY Foundation’s efforts to support recruitment and training of the brightest students and to promote careers in the poultry and egg industry, the top 11 teams of the National FFA Poultry Evaluation Career Development Event (CDE) and the top 10 teams of the Food Science and Technology CDE were invited to the 2023 International Poultry Expo, part of the International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta, Ga.
The opportunity to participate was made possible in part by endowing Foundation gifts from Prestage Farms and Wayne-Sanderson Farms for the Poultry Evaluation CDE teams and Pilgrim’s and Cargill for the Food Science and Technology CDE teams.
“USPOULTRY has been a supporter of the FFA Poultry Evaluation CDE for many years, and now other CDEs and Poultry Efficiency contests. IPPE is a great opportunity for these teams to see the range of career opportunities available to them in the poultry and egg industry and to experience the world’s largest annual trade show for the poultry and egg, meat and animal food industries,” said Mike Levengood, Perdue Farms, and USPOULTRY Foundation chairman.
Poultry industry leaders from Cargill, Prestage Farms and Pilgrim’s participated in a program that informed the students about the multitude of career opportunities in the industry.
The following Poultry Evaluation CDE teams were invited to attend the 2023 IPPE: Katy FFA, Texas; Columbia FFA, Missouri; Felicity-Franklin FFA, Ohio; Santa Maria-Righetti FFA, California; Westville FFA, Oklahoma; Jackson-Empower FFA, Georgia; Har-Ber FFA, Arkansas; Anderson County FFA, Kansas; Louisa-Muscatine FFA, Iowa; LaRue County FFA, Kentucky; and Prairie Central FFA, Illinois.
The following Food Science and Technology CDE teams were invited to attend IPPE: Missoula FFA, Montana; Big Walnut-DACC FFA, Ohio; Lake Butler FFA, Florida; Florence FFA, Texas; Bergen County Academies FFA, New Jersey; Cache FFA, Oklahoma; Dassel-Cokato FFA, Minnesota; Mandan FFA, North Dakota; Monroe City FFA, Missouri; and Galt-Liberty Ranch FFA, California.
FFA leadership
The National FFA Officer Candidates were also invited to the 2023 International Poultry Expo. The opportunity for them to participate was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Tyson Foods.
“Our industry continues to evolve, and young talent brings fresh insights in addition to diverse mindsets,” said Chip Miller, senior vice president of live production for Tyson Foods, and a member of the USPOULTRY Board of Directors. “We need to continue encouraging their development and growth, while attracting the best young leaders to work in this industry. Tyson Foods’ culture includes investing in future leaders, and we are pleased to contribute to this effort.”
“USPOULTRY has been a supporter of FFA for many years,” Levengood said. “We are pleased to be able to provide these National Officer Candidates, our potential future leaders, the opportunity to experience the world’s largest annual trade show for the poultry and egg, meat and animal food industries.”
As college students, they were provided the opportunity to participate in the USPOULTRY Foundation College Student Career Program to interview for internship opportunities with poultry and egg industry member companies and exhibitors. The students were also able to explore the vast trade show floor to see the exciting technology used by today’s modern, sustainable poultry industry.
