John Starkey has led the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association (USPOULTRY) since December 2007. He is an engineer by profession with a Baccalaureate degree in chemical engineering from Purdue and a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering from Georgia Tech. He has worked with a number of major producers including Gold Kist and Hudson Foods. He was appointed as VP of Environmental Programs for USPOULTRY in 2000 and promoted to his present position on the retirement of Don Dalton. Recently EGG-CITE had the opportunity to review current issues with John. EGG-CITE: Please indicate some of the challenges and achievements during your tenure as President of USPOULTRY. John Starkey: One of the most important achievements has been balancing the budget of USPOULTRY especially after the onset of the recession in 2008. Fortunately we have been able to establish a firm sustainable footing for the Association with a balanced budget for the last two years. The second achievement has been the co-location of the International Poultry Exposition, the American Meat Industry Trade Show and the International Feed Exposition. This combination will form the International Production Processing Expo (IPPE) in 2013. |