Donnie Wilburn was elected as the 2013-14 chairman of the Georgia Poultry Federation on April 19, during the federation’s annual meeting at Legacy Lodge & Conference Center at Lake Lanier Islands. Wilburn is director of live operations at Harrison Poultry, Bethlehem, Georgia. He succeeds Ken Long, Pilgrim’s Pride, Canton.
In other news from the Georgia Poultry Federation, David Bleth, vice president of operations for Harrison Poultry, has been selected as chair of the advisory committee to the Agricultural Technology Research Program (ATRP) at Georgia Tech. The advisory committee consists of representatives from all the major poultry companies and allied industries in Georgia, and it works with Georgia Tech in establishing priorities and reviewing research results. The award-winning program is celebrating 40 years of advancing poultry innovation and technology through research, technical assistance, education, and outreach.
The researchers in the Georgia Tech Research Institute work closely with the Georgia Poultry Federation and the poultry and allied industries to find solutions for both current issues, and to anticipate what future challenges may arise. With expertise in the core areas of automation and robotics, imaging and sensing, environmental, and food safety technologies, the research projects run the gauntlet of grow-out house monitoring, intelligent deboning systems, dynamic filtration research, worker safety, cone line screening, egg fertility, as well as other areas.
