THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE ALABAMA POULTRY & EGG ...

GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS �
Boaz to get state veterinary laboratory
The Sand Mountain Reporter
By Jan McDaniel
Published November 2, 2006
A new state livestock and poultry diagnostic
laboratory could make Alabama the
No. 1 state in the poultry industry.
That's according to Ron Sparks, the state's
agriculture and industries commissioner.
Sparks joined other dignitaries at 1833
Industrial Blvd., where the state's fourth such
lab will be built. Auburn, Elba and
Hanceville already have laboratories.
Guy Hall, director of the poultry division,
Alabama Farmers Federation, said more than
a billion chickens are raised each year in
Alabama, which is third in the nation in the
poultry industry.
"We are here in the heart of the poultry
region," he said, "and that's why it is so
important to have a lab located near that.
With over $2.4 billion, it is critical to our
state's economic growth that we safeguard the
future of the poultry industry. That's why
Alabama Farmers Federation and other agriculture
groups have supported Commissioner
Sparks in his efforts to establish this new
diagnostic lab here in Boaz.
"This new state-of-the art facility will not
only provide great convenience for Alabama
farmers and poultry companies but will provide
rapid response in the event of a poultry
disease outbreak. Thanks to this facility,
problems can be diagnosed here in the field,
rapidly, and then they will begin treatment or
containment of the problem."
Dr. Fred Hoerr, director of the Alabama
Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories whose
expertise is sought worldwide, said the new
Boaz facility would be full-service, with a
necropsy room with large animal capabilities
and the latest in carcass management technology.
With 1.5 million head of cattle, Alabama
is 14th in the nation in cattle numbers, he
said.
USDA's Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) reports that an on-going long term
study supports the use of alum (aluminum
sulfate) to reduce phosphorus runoff and to
reduce ammonia emissions in poultry houses.
The 20-year study, which started in the
mid-1990s, is being conducted by ARS scien-
10 Alabama Poultry November/December 2006
Dr. Tami Kelly, head of the local lab currently
in operation on the Snead State
Community College campus, said her facility
performed 209,000 diagnostic tests and 7,000
necropsy lab tests during 2006.
She said while poultry, other avian
species and cattle make up the bulk of the
work at the lab, other animals must be tested
and work done for local veterinarians,
wildlife and law enforcement agencies.
"We all know there are emerging, lifechanging
diseases coming down the pike
everyday," Sparks said. "We can't just figure
it out once it happens; we've got to figure it
out before it happens. We've got to have a
plan in place because that's what the people
expect of us. We can't work on 99 percent
accuracy; we have to work on 100 percent
accuracy."
tist Philip Moore and University of
Kentucky-Lexington agricultural engineer
Dwayne Edwards and was initiated to evaluate
the effects of alum.
Results from the first 10 years of the study
are better than anticipated, according to ARS.
Applying alum treated litter reduced phos-
He credited the teamwork of his staff and
the support of city, county and state officials
with the department's success.
State Veterinarian Dr. Tony Frazier said
the animal health infrastructure was experiencing
unprecedented expansion.
"The key issue for us is to detect these
diseases rapidly in real time," he said. "The
market demands it. Exporting products to a
global market and reassuring consumers can't
be done without partnerships."
Avian influenza (bird flu) and bovine
spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease),
rabies, and West Nile virus are a few of
the serious problems that keep the diagnostic
labs on alert.
Bids for construction of the new facility
will go out this month.
Reviewing the plans for the new state diagnostic lab in Boaz are (left to right) Wendell Shelton,
Gold Kist, Boaz; Rep. Frank McDaniel; Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks; AP&EA
President Ricky Walker, Tyson Foods, Snead; and Sen. Hinton Mitchem.
Long term study confirms benefits of alum
phorus runoff by 75 percent at the watershed
scale and as much as 87 percent from the
small plots. In addition, alum reduced the
ammonia levels in poultry houses by about 70
percent in field trials.