AgriNerds: Using Technology and Data to Combat Bird Flu with Dr. Maurice Pitesky

This week on Eggheads, we sit down with Dr. Maurice Pitesky, veterinary epidemiologist at UC Davis and founder of AgriNerds, to explore how technology—think radar, satellites, and spatial modeling—is reshaping disease prevention in the poultry industry. His tool, the Waterfowl Alert Network, helps producers track wild bird movement in real time, offering a red-light, green-light system for assessing avian influenza risk.Maurice explains how biosecurity needs to expand beyond the barn, why data sharing is just as important as data collection, and what it’ll take to modernize vet training for the 21st century. From drones that chase birds to historical migration data from the '90s, this episode dives deep into innovation, practicality, and the challenges of protecting flocks in the middle of a historic outbreak.What does it look like to layer biosecurity, mapping, and epidemiology in a way that actually works? And how can we build systems that help producers act before—not after—a crisis hits?Are you an egg industry pro? Reach out to be a guest on the show! Connect with us on LinkedIn and Instagram. And please rate Eggheads on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.