TUCKER, GA. — The US Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY) highlighted insights and key topics touched on at its 2024 Financial Management Seminar, held June 26-28 in Marco Island, Fla. The seminar covered valuable information shaping today’s business landscape, including legal ramifications involving cybersecurity issues, economic forecasts and leadership principles.

One takeaway stressed by speaker Dabbs Cavin, chief executive officer of Mountaire Corp., was the significance of leadership in the workplace. Maintaining a positive work culture is essential when in a leadership position along with gaining the trust of employees.

When asked what makes a good leader, Cavin responded, “Integrity is number one, two and three. You need to be willing to hire your weaknesses; people that may outshine you.”

From his roles as chief financial officer and now CEO, Cavin realized the importance of having mentors — a lesson he passed on to attendees.

“Find the people that you admire that have the qualities you’d like to have or maybe enhance the ones you already have,” Cavin said. “That’s a powerful tool.”

Melanie Ramey, senior associate at Eversheds Sutherland LLP, and Alexander Gross, chief business officer at CYPFER, spoke on cybersecurity and the threats to the industry today. Trends in the cyber space include artificial intelligence (AI), deep fake technology, ransomware and utilizing ChatGPT in the workplace.

Gross informed attendees how farms across the country are increasingly becoming targets of cyber-attacks, often in the form of ransomware, jeopardizing animal welfare and disrupting the supply chain.

Meanwhile, Ramey presented an overview of potential legal ramifications that may result from a cyber-attack.

Shifting to an economic update, Mark Jordan, executive director at LEAP Market Analytics, provided information on various economic factors, such as inflation, public debt, employment and agriculture. Jordan said that while inflation is “cooling,” it is still running comfortably ahead of long-term average levels.

Specifically relating to the agriculture market, Jordan noted an increase in corn and soybean production, which should lead to lower feed costs in 2025. Protein demand is expected to ease from the “pandemic bubble,” Jordan said, but remain elevated by historical standards.

With the conclusion of the event, USPOULTRY said seminar attendees are eligible to receive up to 12 CPE credits since the association is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsor. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.