Innovations
A Publication of Hy-Line International
Investing in
Your Future
Continued…
Hy-Line International recently
dedicated a new state-of-the-art
research facility, the Dr. Dennis
Casey Research Farm. Early in his
career at Hy-Line Dr. Casey worked
as a research geneticist and then
went on to serve as Hy-Line’s
President from 1975–2005. Dr.
Casey was an inspirational leader
contributing immensely to the global
success of Hy-line International.
This new farm gives us the ability to
collect individual bird data from all of
our pedigree lines to 90+ weeks of
age. This expanded research capacity
will accelerate our genetic
improvements in persistency of egg
production and egg shell quality over
longer production cycles. As you
know, we have invested heavily in
new and upgraded farms over the
past 5 years to complement our
investments in Genomic Selection.
We will have much more genetic
information to use in our Genomic
Selection analysis for faster and
improved selection accuracy, as well
as allowing unique mating strategies
in the future.
Our new Great-Grandparent farm
in Nebraska is now in operation
having received its first flock. This
farm is an integral part of our overall
production base in the USA.
Continued on pg. 3
Dr. Dennis Casey Research Farm
Inauguration
Hy-Line International hosted two separate events in celebration of the
unveiling of the new Dr. Dennis Casey Research Farm. The first event included
the official dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony. State of Iowa Secretary
of Agriculture Bill Northey joined Dr. Casey and Hy-Line senior staff for the
ceremony and tour inside the house. Following the dedication ceremony,
Hy-Line employees, local cooperators, family and friends were invited to an
open house for guided tours led by Hy-Line’s research and technical experts.
Pictured from left to right Dr. Doug Grieve, Dr. Antonio Paraguassu, Sec. of Agriculture Bill Northey,
Dr. Dennis Casey, Maria Casey, Angela Derby, Dr. Neil O’Sullivan, and Jonathan Cade
Continued on back pg.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Hy-Line Brown – the World’s Leading Brown Layer! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2–3
Hy-Line International Retirees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4–5, 7
Ovobrand Focuses on Exporting Quality Processed Egg Products . . . . . . . 6–7
Ovobrand, Feller and Hy-Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–7
Hy-Line France Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
ISSUE 6 • MAY 2014
Hy-Line Brown – the World’s Leading Brown Layer!
Some 40 years ago, the Hy-Line
Brown was introduced and has
continued to grow in popularity
around the world. It now enjoys
the enviable position as the world’s
leading brown egg layer. However,
that wasn’t a sure and easy
accomplishment – in fact, it took
some years of trial and error before
the right combination of genetic
lines was found that allowed the
bird to progress to her current
status. Some of the Research &
Switzer. They improved the lines in
the brown program for many years
without entering the market.
During the early 70’s Hy-Line
was growing around the world
and many markets demanded a
brown egg layer. After some initial,
disappointing results geneticist
Jason Beck focused on the brown
egg layer and got her “up to Hy-Line
standards.” As the saying goes, it
was “back to the drawing board”
and an intense effort was applied
to get an appropriate product
developed.
With humble beginnings
and strong competition,
the Hy-Line Brown has
proven herself to be a
long-term success.
Development team involved in the
Hy-Line Brown’s development have
shared their observations to help
document the evolution of the bird.
Even before Hy-Line was founded in
1936, H. A. Wallace and geneticists
at Pioneer had bred brown egg lines.
They worked with white egg lines as
well, and during the late 1940’s and
early 1950’s, Hy-Line’s major product
was a tint/cream egg layer which
was the result of a cross of a White
Leghorn male with a brown egglaying female. This layer was very
popular due to high egg numbers,
but eventually fell out of favor due to
a susceptibility to lymphoid leucosis.
(She was replaced by the 934 series
of white egg layers which was more
resistant to lymphoid leucosis.)
After serving as United States
Secretary of Agriculture and U.S.
Vice President, H.A. Wallace retired
to his farm in New York, where he
worked with brown egg stocks,
assisted by Hy-Line geneticist Lloyd
PAGE 2 • ISSUE 6
The renewed research effort proved
to be successful and after a few
more years of intense selection
and trials, the Hy-Line Brown was
ready to be introduced to the global
market. The Hy-Line sales team was
able to offer a competitive bird to
their international clients. At that
time, well over 15 brown egg layers
were available – with many global,
regional and local competitors all
competing for the brown egg layer
market. The Hy-Line Brown was
recognized for her high livability
and disease resistance, high egg
mass with low feed consumption
and superior egg quality. The only
thing missing was a consistent and
dark egg color – a characteristic
that was further improved upon in
the subsequent decades such that
now her consistent dark eggs make
the Hy-Line Brown the undisputed
leader in egg color.
Over 30 years ago, Hy-Line
International was the first
international company allowed to
enter the Chinese market which
was growing exponentially. The
Hy-Line Brown was the lead product
as the US company cautiously
learned how to compete with local
layers and subsequently, those
of other international companies.
Chinese layer customers found the
Hy-Line Brown quite adaptable to
their production systems and haven’t
found another layer able to measure
up to her production results. In fact,
today the Hy-Line Brown enjoys an
amazing 60% market share in China
which produces over 35% of the
world’s eggs!
That same adaptability which
made the Hy-Line Brown popular
with Chinese customers has been
noted by egg producers around
the world. The Hy-Line Brown has
shown outstanding performance
in free-range production in Europe
and Australia, in floor production in
Colombia, in aviary production in
Investing in Your Future continued from pg. 1
The location in Nebraska provides risk mitigation and supply continuity of
Hy-Line genetics in the event of disease outbreak in Iowa which could cause
a barrier to international trade.
Our Global Technical Service team has been strengthened with the hire of
Dr. Robert Van Wyhe. Robert is a recent graduate of Michigan State University
in the area of nutrition. His work complements our existing global team of
experts with a key focus on nutrition and optimum feeding advice for
our varieties.
Europe and the US, as well as cage
production in hot and cold climates.
Over the years, continued
improvements have strengthened
the position of the Hy-Line Brown.
During the 1990’s an intense effort
was focused on the egg weight
profile which had a large range
throughout lay. Now producers
notice a very desirable size of about
50g as first eggs and eggs below
65g at the end of lay. Likewise,
newer technologies became
available to evaluate shell color and
selection pressure has resulted
in the Hy-Line Brown leading the
industry in consistent shell color
throughout lay.
What can we expect in the future
from the Hy-Line Brown? Dr. Petek
Settar, Population Geneticist,
observes the pure lines daily
working on the research farms. With
her colleagues she continues to
select for even higher persistency of
lay and the body weights required
to sustain that production. She says,
“We are also very excited about the
continued improvements in egg shell
color and egg quality that will be
evident in future generations of the
Hy-Line Brown. We are also working
to be able to offer options for some
different egg size profiles in the
future.”
With humble beginnings and strong
competition, the Hy-Line Brown has
proven herself to be a long-term
success. Efficient production of highquality brown eggs has made her
truly the world’s most popular egg
layer – of any color!
We recently launched two new management guides for our Hy-Line Brown
Parent Stock and Commercial Layers. These guides have updated
management recommendations and new performance standards reflecting
our recent genetic improvements in productivity. Our technical experts from
Research and Technical Service Departments in consultation with our local
regional technicians have worked tirelessly on the creation of these guides.
Our Marketing group has done a fine job in organizing these guides in a
focused, easy to understand and pictorial way. I believe these are two of the
best guides yet produced and will help our customers exceed the genetic
potentials detailed in the performance standards sections.
Those of you attending the VIV Exposition in Utrecht, Holland in May will
meet some of our new team members at the Hy-Line booth. Please visit us
and let’s work together to discuss areas of interest and explore ways that we
can work together more effectively. We are always interested in your
feedback of how we can improve our service. This feedback is important in
our decision-making process for breeding our future layer varieties.
A part of ‘investing in your future’ is the importance of growing good quality
pullets. Pullets are our future - invest in them and they will deliver the results.
In the coming year, this will be an area of emphasis for our Technical Service
team during their customer farm visits and in technical literature. I believe
that focus in this area will pay dividends during the laying period. At the VIV
Exposition, our team is waiting to discuss pullet growing programs that will
best optimize your Hy-Line layer performance.
I thank you for investing in Hy-Line
and I promise we will continue to
invest in our business for your future.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Cade, President, Hy-Line International
MAY 2014 • PAGE 3
HY-LINE INTERNATIONAL
Retirees
An occasional feature to share an update with their many friends around the world
Dr. Dennis Casey–a Hy-Line Legend Reflects on His Career
A discussion of the success of
Hy-Line International always includes
the name, Dr. Dennis Casey. His 36
years of service to the company –
30 as President, have left an important
mark on the global layer industry.
Though officially retired from Hy-Line,
he continues as a consultant for
Hy-Line North America and is very
active in the layer industry.
Born in northwest Iowa, Dennis
grew up on a farm and his chores
included caring for the family’s flock
of 200 layers. “I did not like those
chickens”, he says, but that was most
likely due to the work cleaning the
chicken house and gathering the eggs.
After graduation from high school,
he studied at Iowa State University
majoring in Agricultural Business.
His first job was selling day-old
chicks in Litchfield, Minnesota in a
company owned by Bob Sparboe who
also became an important mentor
for Dennis. Today, Sparboe Farms
continues as one of the 10 largest egg
producers in the US and an important
customer of Hy-Line.
After 18 months of selling chicks,
graduate school was the next step
for Dennis. He was accepted again
at Iowa State in the poultry breeding
program, obtained his master’s
degree and then 2 years later, his PhD
in poultry genetics. Fresh from the
university, Dennis went to work as
a geneticist on the research farm for
the company from which he would
retire, Hy-Line International. His first
project was to develop the male line
that would be used to produce the
Hy-Line W-36 – a line that continues
to this day. Three years later he was
appointed to run the West Coast
distribution and in 1975 was appointed
PAGE 4 • ISSUE 6
President. Hy-Line was struggling at
the time and the company included
separate layer and breeder sales
forces, was growing and selling 2
million started pullets a year and
contracting with farmers who kept 3
million layers in production. Dennis
recognized the company needed
to focus on one business to be
successful and despite the fact that
there were many competitors in the
US alone; he decided the original
focus of breeding would be the way
forward. The other businesses were
sold off and Hy-Line soon returned to
profitability and a growth plan that has
been ongoing ever since.
“people built Hy-Line –
they are the key to the
company’s success”.
Another interesting fact is that Dennis
succeeded Henry B. Wallace (HB) as
president of Hy-Line after HB had led
the company for 35 years. At this time
Hy-Line was owned by Pioneer HiBred Corn Company, a global leader in
plant genetics founded by HB’s father,
Henry A. Wallace, who also served as
Vice President of the United States
and Secretary of Agriculture under
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Not
only did HB mentor Dennis during his
years in the business, they remained
life-long friends until HB passed away
in 2005.
The early years as President were
challenging as the company debated
how to position itself in a highly
fragmented layer industry which was
rapidly starting to consolidate. After
much internal debate, Dennis led the
effort to acquire many of Hy-Line’s
US distributors in an effort to have
total control of product supply
and quality. And then only 3 years
later Hy-Line was purchased by a
German family-owned company,
Lohmann, who pressured Casey to
drop the brown egg program as US
consumers preferred white eggs by
this point in time. But recognizing
the growing international demand
for US genetics and brown egg
layers, Dennis held firm and kept
progress moving forward with the
brown egg programs. Soon Lohmann
experienced financial challenges with
the company ending up in hands of
a bank until another German family,
the Wesjohanns, stepped in and
purchased the Lohmann assets.
Over the next decades, Hy-Line
continued its rapid growth. As US
farms became larger and moved to allin, all-out pullet housing the number
of chicks per order grew exponentially.
In order to supply those large orders,
Hy-Line continued purchasing
distributors and invested in larger and
larger hatcheries strategically located
throughout the country. The success
of the W-36 in the US continued
as well as other specialty products
to allow Hy-Line to become the
undisputed market leader.
Likewise, international sales also
started to climb and Hy-Line became
established across the world. Long
before China’s economic policies
were liberated, Hy-Line was firmly
entrenched and continues to
dominate there where over 35%
of the world’s eggs are produced.
Soon Hy-Line was also investing in
company-owned distribution in the
UK, South Africa, Japan and Brazil
and forging strong partnerships with
distributors in all other major egg
markets.
When asked to explain the reasons
for Hy-Line’s success, Dennis refuses
to take credit beyond “providing
leadership”. He cites four key
accomplishments:
Throughout his career Dennis also
served the egg industry in many
ways. He has been a longtime
member of the International Egg
Commission, sat on the boards
of the Southeastern Poultry and
Egg Association, United Egg
Producers allied industry group,
was past chairman of the Midwest
Poultry Consortium, of which he
was a founding father along with
Bob Sparboe, served as the allied
industry advisor to the American Egg
Board, and currently serves as Chair
of the Egg Industry Center.
His hard work has also earned
him many awards over the years.
They include induction into the
Department of Animal Science “Hall
of Fame” at Iowa State University
in Ames, Iowa, the Denis Wellstead
award for “International Egg Person
of the Year” from the International
Egg Commission, the Iowa Poultry
Association and Egg Industries
“Lifetime Membership” award, and
the Midwest Poultry Consortium’s
“Outstanding Service” award.
Dennis was also the recipient of the
United Egg Producers’ “Industry
Person of the Year” award and the
Floyd Andre Award honoring an Iowa
State University alumnus who has
made a significant influence on Iowa
agriculture.
1.Better products — genetic
improvement is a slow process,
but Hy-Line has always focused on
having the best feed conversion,
highest livability and superior egg
quality. Those benefits continue to
provide great value today as they
did from the company’s humble
start.
2.Infrastructure — production and
distribution around the world to
meet the customer’s demands
3.Service, service, service —
Dennis points out that happy
customers have no reason to
consider competitive birds.
Technical service veterinarians and
nutritionists help keep Hy-Line
birds leading the industry
4.People — Dennis is especially
proud of what has become
recognized as the Hy-Line family –
a strong continuity of good people
who have worked long careers
at Hy-Line with a passion for the
industry. He emphasizes “people
built Hy-Line – they are the key to
the company’s success.”
Dennis, Maria and the dogs
Since “retiring” in 2005, Dennis has new goals in life.
He jokes his most important effort is “trying to become the person my
dog thinks I am.” Dennis and his wife Maria have an active household with
family, friends and pets dropping by throughout the day. With daughters
Angela and Jennifer living close by with their respective families, Dennis
and Maria enjoy caring for the dogs of all three families during the day
while their owners are at work. Angela’s son Hunter often comes to
spend part of the afternoon as well. Dennis enjoys year-round golf in Iowa
and Arizona where they have a winter home. Dennis jokes “I like winter in
Iowa – at least for a couple of days.”
While his work day is not quite as stressful, Dennis continues to work as
a consultant for Hy-Line North America, is the Chair of the Egg Industry
Continued on pg. 7
MAY 2014 • PAGE 5
Ovobrand Focuses on Exporting Quality Processed Egg Products
Dr. Gustavo van Bassenheim
A progressive Argentine company,
Ovobrand, offers an impressive story
of entrepreneurial spirit that
demonstrates the power of
inspiration in today’s global
marketplace. Dr. Gustavo von
Bassenheim, CEO of Ovobrand, had
worked for many years in the local
egg production industry and
developed a dream to export egg
products. Recognizing a competitive
cost of production due to Argentina’s
abundant production of corn and
soya, Gustavo was confident that
with exceptional quality control,
Ovobrand could compete in the
international processed egg market.
He labored for months developing a
business plan, farm and production
designs and market studies. “When
you believe in your product, there
isn’t much negotiating that needs to
be done”, he emphasized. He
identified some local partners in
Argentina and his dream began to
take shape.
The project
broke ground in
January 2008
PAGE 6 • ISSUE 6
on a brand new complex located on
1300 hectares. To ensure strict
biosecurity the facility was located in
an area isolated from commercial
poultry production with abundant
local grain availability and 80 km
from the harbor. Over 6 km of roads
were built to allow for efficient
internal movement within the
complex. A dedicated feed mill with
grain storage feeds the 1.5 million
layers in production and 350,000
pullets. The grain silos with a storage
capacity close to 6.000 metric tons
have elevated flat bottom floors to
encourage air flow and keep the
grain in optimum condition reducing
the risk of mycotoxins affecting feed
quality.
All growing and laying houses are
built with double walls of brick and
double sheets of metal for the roof,
all with two layers of insulation to
control house temperatures, reduce
energy consumption and allow
proper sanitization. New enrichable
stacked deck cages were purchased
anticipating future welfare
requirements for products to be sold
in international markets.
Ovobrand, Feller
and Hy-Line
Having worked in the breeding
industry previously, Dr. Gustavo
von Bassenheim feels confident
that the Hy-Line W-36 is the leastcost egg layer available. He works
closely with Hy-Line’s Argentine
distributor, Cabaña Avícola Feller,
to supply 100% of his operation’s
pullet needs. Under the direction
of the Motta family, Cabaña Avícola
Feller has built a new state-ofthe-art breeder facility, COBISE,
which was featured in the previous
issue of Innovations. Hy-Line is
privileged to have the confidence
of Ovobrand as demonstrated by
100% use of the Hy-Line W-36 in
the operation.
Gustavo is especially proud of an
innovative biogas project that
converts manure produced by
pullets and layers, waste water from
the egg processing plant, sorghum
silage and other minor residues into
biogas (900 m3 biogas / hour, mainly
methane) that is then used by the
egg processing plant (over one
megawatt each of electrical and
thermal energy). One of his project
goals is to be a good steward of the
land and to produce sustainable
products. The final product produced
in the biogas plant is a high value
fertilizer which is in high demand by
intensive crop producers.
The final part of complex contains an
egg packing station as well as the
processing plant. Ovobrand is able to
export shell eggs and also
participates in the Argentine shell
egg market. The processing plant is
ARGENTINE
EGG INDUSTRY
Layers in Production
42,500,000
Brown / White Eggs
45% / 55%
Colony Production
98%
Average Egg Weight
63 g
Per capita consumption
244 eggs / year
Exports
6,160 tons of shell eggs &
liquid/dry egg products
capable of producing both liquid and
dry egg products, including whole
eggs, yolks, whites and custom
blends. The plant’s laboratory is
equipped with the latest technology
which has helped Ovobrand meet all
EU and Japanese requirements, the
strictest in the global market.
Gustavo also is largely responsible
for international sales of Ovobrand
products – both direct to customers
and through brokers. Currently
Ovobrand is exporting to customers
in 17 countries.
Leading Ovobrand through a
transformation from green fields to a
global business in little over 6 years,
Gustavo has not been able to
accomplish this enormous task
alone. A strong team of quality
specialists in their fields has been
employed. Focused and continued
training and process improvement
creates an environment where
employees also demonstrate
obvious commitment to helping
realize Gustavo’s dreams. And
without a doubt, his leadership has
been instrumental to achieving this
success in such a short time!
Continued from pg. 5
Center and serves on the board of the Midwest Poultry Consortium. He
is an active investor in several egg operations in the Midwest, including a
large cage-free egg producer in the US.
Dennis also is a partner in and serves as President of Biova, based at
the Iowa State Research Park in nearby Ames, Iowa. He was one of the
founders of this company created to develop products from the egg
membrane left behind after the liquid contents are harvested in egg
breaking facilities. The process includes a patented mechanical process
that removes the egg membrane from the shell, as well as another
process that concentrates the membrane into a water-soluble intermediate
ingredient called Ovacore™. Further processing then creates a variety of
highly concentrated protein products that are used in joint health products
for humans and companion animals, as well as serving as an important
component in anti-aging cosmetics and wound-care products.
Hy-Line France Celebrates 10 Year
Anniversary
From a humble beginning in 2004 with
only 3 employees, Hy-Line France
has expanded rapidly over the past
10 years to now enjoying almost 30%
market share in the competitive French
market! Indeed, the entire French layer
industry has been undergoing dramatic
changes in the last decade with new
animal welfare legislation impacting
housing and husbandry practices,
as well as ever-evolving consumer
demands.
In 2007 an important strategic
investment was made in the purchase
of the commercial layer division of an
important French industrial group.
Hy-Line France was able to quickly
double its market presence with a
dedicated hatchery and expanded
team which allowed sales and technical
service to expand across the country.
FRENCH
EGG INDUSTRY
Layers in Production
46,000,000
Brown / White Eggs
85% / 15%
Colony Production
70%
Average Egg Weight
64 g
Per capita consumption
205 eggs / year
Exports
29,700 tons of liquid/dry
egg products
Imports
42,700 tons of liquid/dry
egg products
MAY 2014 • PAGE 7
Dr. Dennis Casey Research Farm Inauguration continued from pg. 1
The new research farm is an
important project in Hy-Line
International’s continued expansion
plan. The Dr. Dennis Casey Research
Farm has all state-of-the-art
ventilation equipment, fire-proof
insulated metal panel walls to
minimize energy consumption, a
manure-drying system, poultryspecific LED lighting, heated
floors and a new computerized
monitoring system. The farm is
located on an isolated 160 acre site
that includes both clean and dirty
roads, an independent cleaning and
disinfection station and many other
measures to ensure a high level of
biosecurity.
Hy-Line International
1755 West Lakes Parkway
West Des Moines, Iowa 50266
U.S.A.
Phone: +1 515-225-6030
Fax: +1 515-225-6425
Dr. Neil O’Sullivan, Director of
Research and Development, explains,
“The investment in the Dr. Dennis
Casey Research Farm affords Hy-Line
scientists data to 90 weeks on all
our lines to ensure accelerated rates
of genetic progress in persistency
of rate of lay and egg shell quality
selections. Persistency of lay and
egg shell quality show higher
genetic variation at older ages so
this information will help ensure
continued genetic progress. The
extended cycles also couple well
with our genomics program allowing
unique mating strategies to enhance
genetic variation.”
Hy-Line UK International
Lower Skilts Farm
Henley Road
Outhill, Studley
Warwickshire, B80 7DU
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 1527 850221
Fax: +44 1527 851699
Secretary Northey and Dr. Casey discussing the
importance of the poultry industry in Iowa
Email: info@hyline.com
www.hyline.com