Friday, June 22, 2018

VIV Europe final day

The VIV Europe grand opening conference on day two was a great success and inspiration. Gordon Butland, Director G&C Agri Consultant and Chairman of the Conference, introduced three speakers with valuable presentations about the future of our industry. 

 Disruptive technologies in Agrifood
 Aidan Connolly, Chief Innovation Officer & Vice President Corporate Accounts at Alltech, spoke about the big evolution in technologies, the feed landscape is changing with regards to safety, transparency, sustainability, government regulation and prosumers. He showed the audience how new technologies can and will be used in the feed landscape. The crop side is 10 years ahead of livestock farming, Aidan Connolly points out. Nine technologies have the power to transform Agriculture: Robots, drones, sensors, 3D printing, blockchain, augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and, in the centre of all this, the Internet of Things. But how do you choose what technologies to use? Aidan Connolly's advice: Compare costs vs benefits, understand the ancillary costs and understand if the technology will be long lasting. He concludes that the nature of innovation has changed and that technology may come from smaller new-tech companies, not just the big ones. These smaller tech companies, however have to be guided with knowledge of agriculture. 

 Personality awards
 At the grand opening conference on Thursday June 21, 2018, Positive Action Publications announced the winners of the personality awards 2018. The International Hatchery Practice - VIV Europe Breeder Personality Award goes to HatchTech's founder Tjitze Meta. He received this award for his pioneering work on breeding, chick transportation and brooding since he started his company 20 years ago. He helped many PhD students with industrial placement in his company and is never happier than the moment he can talk about incubation with customers, student or the media.

 The International Poultry Production - VIV Europe Poultry Personality Award 2018 goes to Theo Hoen. He received this award for his work as CEO of Stork and later Marel, leading the launch and further development of the Nuova System and the Revoproportioner. In 2013 he became CEO of Vencomatic where for formed foundations for the next generation of the family owning the company. He was also a strong initiator of the Big Challenge, a charity initiative for cancer research.

 The International Pig Topics - VIV Europe Pig Personality Award 2018 goes to Alex Eggen. He received this award for his almost 30- year career at Intervet. Whether it was in the Dutch pig industry or up country in Thailand or China, he was always happy to share his knowledge with veterinarians and pig farmers. After his retirement he continued his willingness to share his wisdom and expertise when he accepted a leading role in the European Symposium for Porcine Health Management. 

 The VIV worldwide Lifetime Award 2018 has gone to Dr Pearse Lyons. He passed away in March 2018. Dr Lyons was well-known as the founder and President of Kentucky-based Alltech. He was widely regarded in the Agribusiness sector as an innovator and industry leader. Alltech Vice President Aidan Connolly received the award on behalf of Dr Lyons, "with regret and pride"

Visit the VIV website here.
 


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