Monitoring of Water Quality in Poultry Farming

PE Services (Head office, Crubany, Co. Cavan) is an Irish company involved in the sale and distribution of agricultural technology. Established in 1997, it has grown steadily and has earned a reputation as an innovative solutions provider within its three main business divisions – Agricultural Solutions; Wash & Environmental Services; Safety Systems.

PE Services operates a comprehensive nationwide service and has expanded to serve the UK market. It is committed to supplying its customers with quality solutions supported by the highest levels of customer service possible.

The company identified an unmet industry need for on-site monitoring of feed water quality in poultry farming. Issues of water quality and risks of bacterial contamination (in grow houses) were known to represent a major headache for the poultry industry and led to increased risk of infection and generally of poor avian health.

PE Services contacted MiCRA Biodiagnostics having learned of their expertise in R&D and micro-biological sensors. The project partners got together and quickly set about describing an R&D roadmap – from early-stage exploratory research (proof-of-concept), follow-on development, and ultimately through to research commercialisation and market – to develop feed-water sensor technology.

The implementation of advanced biosensor technology would allow poultry technicians to gauge water quality on-site, in real-time, and so make informed decisions with to respect the use of chemical disinfection and antibiotics. The success of the initial proof-of-concept study has since led to engagement by both parties in follow-on collaborative research projects.

We were impressed from the outset with the hands-on approach and “can-do” attitude of the MiCRA team. Working closely with MiCRA researchers, we were able to co-author and achieve funding support for a project of direct and immediate economic relevance to our business. All said, we are delighted with progress to date, so much so that we are committing to substantial ongoing research in the area and would highly recommend MiCRA to any firm looking for access to scientific research expertise.

Killian Cawley
Managing Director, PE Services