On 3-4 June, the Interprofessional Association for Agricultural Development (AIDA) will hold the XXI Workshop on Animal Production. CIHEAM Zaragoza is one of the collaborators in the event, together with the Agri-food Research and Technology Centre of Aragon (CITA), and the University of Zaragoza.
Hosted at the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Zaragoza, this year’s workshop has attracted a record number of participants. There are already over 335 registrations, including 88 early-career researchers who will be opting for the Young Researchers Award, while 159 will be taking part in the side event ‘Young Researchers’ Night’.
This year’s edition will include a new section on Precision Livestock Farming, in addition to the six regular sessions: Livestock Systems-Economics and Management; Nutrition and Feeding; Reproduction; Genetics; Health and Welfare; and Product Quality. A total of 318 contributions have been submitted, comprising 268 oral communications and 50 posters.
The workshop will open on Tuesday 3 June at 09:00 in the Faculty’s main lecture theatre. The keynote address titled ‘Farm Animal Welfare at a Time of Crisis and Uncertainty’, will be delivered by Peter Sandøe, professor at the University of Copenhagen, a leading international authority in ethics and animal welfare.
The workshop will continue with the round table ‘Animal Welfare and Intensive Livestock Farming’, organised by the Union of Spanish Animal Science Organisations (UEECA) and AIDA. The session will bring together representatives from academia, industry, and animal welfare advocacy. Isabel Blanco-Penedo from the University of Lleida (UdL) and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), will chair the session, accompanied by the panellists María Moreno (Compassion in World Farming), Ismael Marzo (Aragonese Association of Poultry Production), Natalia Domínguez (COSTA Group), Beatriz Messía (Interprofessional Association of Rabbit Producers) and Peter Sandøe (University of Copenhagen).
On the first evening of the workshop ‘Young Researchers’ Night’ moves to Rock&Blues Café. Starting at 21:00, this session will include stand-up science comedy acts, where young researchers share the lighter side of their work. This will be followed by a scientific outreach film competition where participants will present short films of their own creation designed to communicate scientific concepts accessible to the general public.
The Scientific Committee is chaired by Luis Varona, secretary of the workshop, and coordinators of the different sections: Product quality: Alberto Ortiz and David Tejerina; Precision Livestock Farming: Lorena Castillejos and Francisco Maroto; Genetics: Romi Pena and María Saura; Nutrition-Feeding: Claudia Baila and Alba Cerisuelo; Reproduction: Adriana Casao and Belén Lahoz; Animal Health and Welfare: Isabel Blanco-Penedo and Arantxa Villagrá; Livestock Systems-Economics and Management: Miguel Escribano and Paula Gaspar.
The Organising Committee is composed of the researchers and practitioners Alfonso Abecia, Isabel Casasús Margalida Joy, Mª Ángeles Latorre, David López-Carbonel, Guillermo Ripoll, María Salillas Fernández, Albina Sanz and Andrés Schlageter.