The 2026 USPOULTRY Live Production, Welfare & Biosecurity Seminar brought together industry professionals to explore challenges and opportunities impacting poultry production. The program provided attendees with insight into wildlife biosecurity and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) prevention, precision farming technologies, emerging poultry disease trends, and evolving approaches to animal welfare and layer housing.

Erin Patrick, supervisory wildlife biologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), discussed efforts to reduce the risk of HPAI introductions through improved wildlife biosecurity. She discussed the APHIS Wildlife Services’ Wildlife Biosecurity Assessment program that helps producers identify wildlife activity and farm-specific hazards and develop mitigation strategies. Patrick explained that waterfowl can carry HPAI during migration, while wildlife found around farms may provide a link between infected waterfowl and commercial poultry. She emphasized that wildlife biosecurity is premise-specific and can provide an “ounce of prevention” against HPAI introductions.

During his presentation on Precision Farming Technology, Casey Middlebrooks, data scientist at Fieldale Farms Corporation, observed how sensors monitoring feed and water consumption, temperature, and humidity can help identify potential health, welfare or equipment concerns between routine farm visits. He remarked that the technology can provide continued visibility when onsite access is restricted. Middlebrooks also emphasized that these technologies are intended to complement, not replace, stockmanship and human decision-making.

Dr. Eric Shepherd, poultry veterinarian at Zoetis, provided a poultry disease update, noting that HPAI will likely remain a seasonal challenge, with potential year-round activity in parts of the Upper Midwest. He said avian metapneumovirus may lessen as vaccination strategies improve, while infectious laryngotracheitis will likely continue to occur throughout the year. Shepherd also discussed uncertainty surrounding Mycoplasma synoviae and cautioned that reductions in vaccine spending could lead to increased disease challenges in the field.

As part of his presentation on Outcome-Based Animal Welfare and Key Welfare Indicators, Dr. Darrin Karcher, poultry Extension specialist at Penn State University, reviewed alternative housing systems for commercial layers. Karcher talked about the shift toward cage-free housing and trade-offs among housing systems related to bird health and behavior, stress, egg cleanliness, space and the worker environment. He also highlighted ongoing USDA-funded research using agent-based modeling to better understand how hens interact with cage-free housing systems.