Dr. Clovis Rayzel, president and CEO of Big Dutchman Inc. will retire at the end of 2025 after 28 years with the company. He has extensive experience in field production of poultry and hogs in the Americas, Europe and Asia where he has been involved in international marketing and sales.
During the transition to his retirement, EGG-NEWS had the opportunity to review his career and share his views on current events and future trends in the egg industry for the benefit of subscribers.
EGG-NEWS: Clovis, please describe your background and training.
CR: I graduated from the University of Santa Catarina, Brazil with a doctoral degree in Veterinary Medicine in 1985. Thereafter I undertook graduate studies through the International Agricultural Center in Wageningen, the Netherlands in 1993 and completed a Master of Science in Animal Production at South Dakota State University in 1995. My formal training was supplemented by extensive interaction with the industry through attendance at national and international meetings, tradeshows and frequent travel on four continents
EGG-NEWS: Your early career involved direct contact with farmers, flocks and herds. Please expand on your activities.
CR: From 1986 through 1997 I functioned as a Field Service Veterinarian advising members of two major cooperatives in Santa Catarina State. Advancing to the Cooperativa Central Aurora in Chapeco SC, I served as the Department Manager for Animal Nutrition and Feed Production. This cooperative incorporated sixteen affiliate groups with over 5,000 employees processing six million broilers and 100,000 hogs annually.
EGG-NEWS: When did you join Big Dutchman?
CR: In 1997 I was appointed as Sales and Marketing Manager for Latin America based in St. Peterburg, FL. This position required extensive travel among nations in Central and South America, participating in the expansion of poultry and swine industries in both developing and developed regions.
EGG-NEWS: When did you move to Michigan?
CR: With my August 2001 appointment as Vice-president, International Sales and Marketing. Subsequently in 2005 I was appointed as president and CEO of Big Dutchman Inc. with responsibilities for Canada, the U.S., Latin America and Caribbean. Currently Big Dutchman AG., the parent company, has a presence in over 100 nations designing and manufacturing equipment and systems for poultry and swine with affiliates in plant production and agricultural technology for sustainability and productivity.
EGG-NEWS: Please describe some of your accomplishments in your position as president and CEO.
CR: We have built a strong team that has contributed to the success of the egg industry in regions of my responsibility. We have a strong distributor network to support expansion and retrofits, and are fully prepared to interact directly with farmers when that is the preference. I believe we are the leaders in technology required for the transition from conventional cages to alternative systems including both aviaries and barn housing.
EGG-NEWS: Kindly share your appraisal of the U.S. egg industry including growth prospects and trends in housing and equipment.
CR: The key consideration will be the rate of expansion in relation to profitability and return on investment. The trajectory of implementing alternative systems appears to be slowing after the rapid transition over the past decade. The industry appears to have bifurcated with aviary systems for large in-line complexes and barn housing with or without outside access for both vertical and horizontal integration. We have witnessed the emergence and expansion of companies supplied by independent contractors specializing in packing and marketing. In some respects, the barn segment of the U.S. model is paralleling traditional systems in the EU.
EGG-NEWS: Do you foresee major changes in housing systems over the next five years?
CR: Big Dutchman has been a leader in innovation among alternative systems with true aviaries that optimize both production and welfare. Currently production parameters in aviaries are approaching cage housing with respect to egg production, livability, and feed consumption. There is still a positive differential in revenue for cage-free eggs that offsets higher labor and feed costs for non-confined housing. Irrespective of systems, Big Dutchman is allowing producers to optimize genetic potential of brown and white-feathered strains through appropriate design, project implementation and after-sales guidance and service,
EGG-NEWS: Do you foresee continued use of cages?
CR: Undoubtedly markets will support confined housing for a significant proportion of the national flock. We continue to deliver enrichable cages that can be converted at some later time to enriched modules. It is possible that the industry under coercion and pressure by animal rights groups adopted aviaries and floor systems during the 2010s. to the exclusion of colony modules. For a variety of reasons the Industry rejected enriched modules that were in fact accepted in principle by HSUS under the abandoned “Egg Bill” that would have established a national housing standard. In an environment characterized by uncertainty as a result of litigation and lobbying, the industry must exercise flexibility. In response to the needs of the industry Big Dutchman offers a comprehensive range of alternatives to support producers.
EGG-NEWS: Do you have any messages for the industry?
CR: Be aware of consumer needs and respond appropriately, be it welfare, technology or other aspects of housing. Avian influenza has become a major factor in determining price and profitability. It is evident that the infection is endemic throughout the world’s poultry populations, will persist and that biosecurity alone does not provide absolute protection. Alternative modalities including vaccination will be necessary to maintain productivity. The egg industry should continue to stress nutritional value and should strive to achieve uniformly high quality with freedom from foodborne infection.
EGG-NEWS: What are your plans for retirement?
CR: I will remain in contact with the industry and will serve as a consultant to Big Dutchman sharing my experience and contacts on this and other continents.
EGG-NEWS: Thank you Clovis and wishing you well in the coming years.