National Poultry Technology Center at Auburn University

The stakes are high when participating in an NPTC workshop! The losing team chose to do pushups over dancing. So the winners had to chicken dance! lol

No translations needed for the chicken dance!

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Last Friday (June 5), NPTC was proud to host a hands-on workshop for students participating in the 2026 Aviagen Production Management School with Larry Blackstone, Ashby Austin and Kailey Kulhanek.

Industry professionals from 16+ countries engaged in practical management and maintenance activities, gaining real-world experience with poultry housing systems and equipment. From observing system performance to learning key service and troubleshooting practices, the day focused on building technical skills that translate directly to commercial production environments.

We appreciate the opportunity to work alongside Aviagen and help support the next generation of industry professionals. It’s always encouraging to see such a strong group of professionals committed to learning and advancing poultry production.

We want to thank our 2026 Friends of the NPTC Sponsors: Ag Lighting Innovations, Aviagen, Chore-Time, A Division of CTB, Inc., Cobb, Cumberland Poultry, Double L Group, LLC, Eagan Manufacturing, Georgia Poultry Equipment Company, Lubing Systems, LP, Proxy-Clean Products, Space-Ray, Valco, and Weeden Sprinkler Systems.

Celebrating NPTC Excellence!

We are proud to share that Kelly Griggs (Biosystems Engineering, National Poultry Technology Center) has been recognized as one of Alabama’s Women in Tech 2026 by Business Alabama.

Kelly’s work at Auburn University focuses on advancing water quality and cooling system technologies for the poultry industry, helping deliver practical, user-friendly solutions to producers.

This recognition highlights the impact of applied engineering and reinforces the role of NPTC in developing technologies that support efficient, sustainable poultry production.

Congratulations to Kelly on this well-deserved honor!
🔗 Read more: https://wire.auburn.edu/content/research/2026/05/291205-women-in-tech-2026.php

Six Auburn researchers recognized as trailblazing women in tech Six Auburn University researchers are being honored for breakthroughs and leadership spanning aerospace, agriculture, advanced manufacturing, water quality and human-computer interaction in Business Alabama's Women in Tech 2026 list.

Growers need to sign up by May 29th to be eligible for funds to transition from mortality freezers.

Some commercial poultry growers use mortality freezers and a rendering company’s pickup service to handle and dispose of their on-farm mortalities. However, this option will likely come to an end in September 2026. There are ongoing efforts to encourage and support new business entities that could potentially use on-farm mortalities as a resource, which would allow growers who have been using mortality freezers and a pickup service to continue to do so. However, until that comes to fruition, growers will have to find another way to dispose of their on-farm mortality.

To help poultry growers secure new mortality handling methods, the US Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) opened up a special source of funding under their Environmental Quality Incentives Program. This funding is available to growers who only had mortality freezers as their handling method. Under this special program (Conservation Practice Standard 316), animal mortality facilities—including incinerators, dehydrators, and composters (shed or drum type)—could all qualify for cost-share. Priority will be given to growers who can document that they must convert from mortality freezers to another method of disposal.

The deadline to sign up for this special offering is May 29, 2026. Interested growers should visit their local district conservation office to fill out an application. Applications submitted by the deadline will be evaluated for fiscal year 2026 funding. Visit al.nrcs.usda.gov, or visit your local NRCS office for more information.

For more information visit, www.aces.edu/blog/topics/farm-management/funding-available-for-poultry-growers-to-convert-mortality-facilities/

On May 5-6th, we hosted 116 people from the continental U.S. and Puerto Rico for the Pilgrim's Broiler Managers Meeting. The group consisted of personnel from corporate broiler live operations; legal, nutrition, veterinary services, and live technical teams spread across 23 complexes. Along with hands-on training sessions from the NPTC team, a variety of internal and external topics were covered to find opportunities for sustainable improvement. We want to thank Arm & Hammer, Aviagen, BarnTools, Best A Ag, Big Dutchman North America, BinSentry, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA Inc., Ceva, Chore-Time, A Division of CTB, Inc., Cobb, Diversified Ag, Georgia Poultry Equipment Company, Huvepharma, Jones-Hamilton, LB White Company, Lubing Systems, Merck, Poultry Guard, Valco Industries, Ziggity Systems, and Zoetis for sponsoring the meeting.

Thanks for presenting guys!

We hosted the Wayne-Sanderson Farms broiler teams on Tuesday with discussions on ventilation and moisture control, generator opportunities, and heating system maintenance with Jeff Wilson and Jonathan Teeter.

We want to thank Tom Lewis, Steve Carpenter, and Clint Lauderdale with Poultry Guard, Mark Sanders, Anna Sanders, Bailey Black, and Milan Powell of Complete AgriServices, and Jeff Sims and Brian Weatherford of Animal Health International for hosting lunch!

We want to thank our 2026 Friends of the NPTC Sponsors: Ag Lighting Innovations, Aviagen, Chore-Time, A Division of CTB, Inc., Cobb, Cumberland Poultry, Double L Group, LLC, Eagan Manufacturing, Georgia Poultry Equipment Company , Lubing Systems, LP, Proxy-Clean Products, Space-Ray, Valco, and Weeden Sprinkler Systems.