UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It's back to basics for the 2004 Pennsylvania Game Breeders and Hunting Preserves Annual Meeting, Feb. 22-24 at the Days Inn Penn State in State College, as the game bird production industry addresses an influx of new producers in the field.

Conference coordinator Michael Hulet, associate professor of poultry science in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, explains that changing ecology and an increasing number of hunting enthusiasts mean that the pheasants and other game birds that used to be plentiful in the wild now must be raised in captivity for state game agencies or preserves by a growing number of private producers.

"We noticed last year that about 25 percent of people in attendance were either there for the first year or had only been there one year before," he says. "Because of that, we wanted to emphasize the basics of growth and how these newcomers should start their businesses. And so we have the essential features of growing pheasants, quail, bob-white quail and chukkar partridges -- the species typically raised on these preserves for hunting and shooting.

"Many first timers attending our meetings come from a lot of different backgrounds," Hulet adds. "Some use it as a hobby -- they want to grow a few birds and put them into their own land. Many use it as a second or side business. They come in with a thousand birds and look to expand if it goes well.

"Many of our bird producers started out very small and now produce several thousand game birds every year for several markets. It's fun to see them -- they bring their families and children, since often the kids are taking care of the birds while dad is working during the day and it's a good family activity. Some have left their previous businesses and look to raise game birds as their primary source of income."

The conference is designed to meet the needs of these new people as well as more sophisticated producers who've raised birds for more than two generations. Sessions at the conference will include terrorism awareness and prevention, methods of catching and transport, health issues of game birds and basic reproductive physiology of game birds.

Registrations will be accepted by mail until Feb. 9 or at the door with a late registration fee. For more information on the program, contact Michael Hulet by phone at 814-863-8934 or by e-mail at http://conferences.cas.psu.edu.

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EDITORS: For more information on course content, contact Michael Hulet by phone at 814-863-8934 or by e-mail at mrh4@psu.edu.

Gary Abdullah Office 814-863-2708 FAX 814-863-9877