April 28-30, 2025

All Speakers

Dog and cat food research experts who will present at Petfood Forum & Petfood Essentials

Brian Earnest
Lead Economist
CoBank
Brian Earnest is lead economist for animal protein in CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division. He provides market and industry research for the poultry, pork and beef sectors. Earnest has more than 10 years of industry and consulting experience. Prior to joining CoBank, he was senior commodity analyst, poultry, with IHS Markit’s Food and Agricultural Commodities Economics group. Earnest provided forecasting and price risk strategies, client service, as well as project consulting in the poultry and egg space. He previously held various procurement and advisory roles with Topco Associates LLC, a retail food industry cooperative. Earnest holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in economics from Eastern Illinois University.
Date/TimeTitle
Wed Jul 30
7:30 AM - 8:15 AM
Balancing innovation with consumer demand for chicken
Oglethorpe Ballroom

Poultry operations have worked hard to produce broilers more efficiently, resulting in bigger birds that require fewer resources. However, today’s consumer appears to have a preference for smaller chickens in both retail and foodservice. Discover how advances in genetics, further processing technology and other innovations are driving production and the opportunities for the broiler industry to help keep chicken as the protein at the center of the plate.

Wed Jul 30
8:15 AM - 9:00 AM
Panel discussion: Avian Influenza in the spotlight
Oglethorpe Ballroom

With HPAI remaining a persistent challenge and media coverage fluctuating, the poultry industry has a limited window to take control of the narrative. During this panel discussion, learn about the economic impacts of HPAI, how the industry is leveraging technology to stop its spread and how sales and marketing can proactively address consumer concerns and misinformation to build consumer confidence and mitigate long-term risks associated with public uncertainty.