USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation have approved approximately $300,000 for five new research grants at four institutions through the comprehensive research program.
The research funding was approved by the boards of directors of both organizations, based on recommendations from the Foundation Research Advisory Committee. The committee evaluates research proposals to determine their value to the industry and then makes recommendations to the boards for funding. Committee members are professional specialists from different segments of the poultry and egg industry who represent a variety of disciplines.
The association’s comprehensive research program dates back to the early 1960s when funds were first approved for poultry disease research. It gradually grew into an all-inclusive program incorporating all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Since the inception of the research program, USPOULTRY has reinvested more than $31 million dollars into the industry in the form of research grants. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants over the years.
“Research is an important part of USPOULTRY's and the foundation’s service to the industry. The Foundation Research Advisory Committee is the core of the research program with committee members volunteering countless hours reviewing and evaluating research proposals before making recommendations for funding. We sincerely value their excellent work,” said Tom Hensley, Fieldale Farms, Baldwin, Georgia, and USPOULTRY chairman.
The research grants for each institution include:
Molecular typing of current reovirus variant strains
University of California - Davis (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Jerry & Cherie Moye and Todd & Shelley Simmons)
Mitigation of ammonia and odor emissions; improving indoor air quality in poultry housing with black UV light
Iowa State University (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Koch Foods)
Infectious bronchitis firus spike protein-pseudotyped virus particles for vaccine development
University of Georgia (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Fieldale Farms)
Early post-hatch nutritional strategies to reduce the incidence and severity of wooden breast and other inflammatory-myopathies
The Ohio State University (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Mar-Jac Poultry)
Improvements in molecular diagnostics for mycoplasma, infectious laryngotracheitis virus and other relevant avian respiratory pathogens
University of Georgia (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Elton & Claire Maddox and the Georgia Poultry Federation)
