USPOULTRY, foundation approve $243,166 in new research grants

USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation have approved a total of $243,166 for two new research grants at two institutions through the Board Research Initiative 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.
One grant was awarded to Auburn University, with funding through a gift from Cargill. The Auburn University project is titled Determining the Dose, Time and Route of Challenge and the Eventual Sites of Colonization of Two Salmonella Serovars.
The other grant was awarded to the University of Arkansas, with funding through a gift from Prestage Farms. This project is titled Characterizing Thermal Micro-Environment during Poultry Transportation.
The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative was created by the Boards of USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation to address current issues facing the poultry industry. The USPOULTRY Board Research Initiative operates alongside the current USPOULTRY research program and augments the great success of the existing program by focusing additional resources toward defined areas of research.
USPOULTRY and its foundation operate a comprehensive research program incorporating all phases of poultry and egg production and processing. Since the inception of the research program, USPOULTRY has reinvested more than $25 million dollars into the industry in the form of research grants, with the International Poultry Expo as the primary source for the funding. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants over the years.

Blue Ridge Community College gets $7,000 USPOULTRY grant

North Carolina's Blue Ridge Community College (BRCC) received a $7,000 student recruiting grant from the USPOULTRY Foundation, made possible by support from The Robert Burtner Strickler and Gladys Hopkins Strickler Student Recruiting Fund, established by a gift from Robert (Twig) H. Strickler. The check was presented by Twig and Lorraine Strickler and John Starkey, president of USPOULTRY, to Dr. John Downey, president of BRCC.
Assisting in the presentation was Hobey Bauhan, president of the Virginia Poultry Federation, Rebecca Evans, associate professor of business/accounting for BRCC, and Omar Gutierrez, sophomore and second year Enactus student at BRCC.
The USPOULTRY Foundation board recently approved student recruiting grants totaling more than $263,000 to the six U.S. universities with poultry science departments and 22 other colleges and universities with industry related programs. The foundation provides annual recruiting funds to colleges and universities to attract students to the poultry industry.
"This significant contribution will help Blue Ridge Community College students pursue their education in a field that is in high demand locally and nationally," said Dr. Downey.
 “I’m confident students exposed to the poultry industry through this grant will see the multitude of exciting career opportunities that exist," addeded Strickler.
"As a visionary pioneer in our industry, Twig has long understood the need to recruit bright, young, energetic people to continually improve and advance the industry. We are grateful for his support of the foundation, enabling us to make this grant,” commented John Starkey, president of USPOULTRY.

Livestock and poultry farmers eligible for grants through FACT's Fund-a-Farmer Project

Family farmers looking to improve their farm animal welfare now have a chance to apply for funding!  Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT) announced today a call for applications for its Fund-a-Farmer Project. Now in its third year, the Fund-a-Farmer Project is a competitive microgrants initiative designed to empower livestock and poultry farmers across the country. This year, FACT will award grants of up to $2,500 to at least 15 farmers for projects that will improve the welfare of animals on their operations. Applications are due by May 1, 2014 and grants will be awarded in August 2014.
Through the Fund-a-Farmer Project, FACT awards grants for projects designed to help farmers transition to pasture-based systems, improve the marketing of their humanely-raised products, or more generally enrich the conditions in which their farm animals are raised.
Working, independent family farmers that raise pigs, broiler chickens, laying hens, dairy cows and/or beef cattle are eligible to apply for any of the three types of grants. Projects involving goats and sheep are only eligible for marketing grants. The newly improved online grant application can be accessed online.
"In general, larger farms and industrial operations are the ones that receive subsidies or grants from the government," said Lisa Isenhart, FACT's Humane Farming Program manager. "Smaller, family farms often aren't eligible or don't have the staffing to do the huge amount of paperwork required by federal grants. Our Fund-a-Farmer Project provides a unique opportunity for grant funding that is suited to independent family farmers."
In the first two years of the project, FACT awarded 27 Fund-a-Farmer grants totaling nearly $40,000 to farmers located across the nation from California to Massachusetts. Fourteen of the funded farms hold at least one of the following sustainable and humane certifications: Certified Organic, Animal Welfare Approved, Certified Naturally Grown, Certified Humane and American Grassfed. Beef cattle, dairy cows, pigs, laying hens, and broiler chickens have all benefited from the funded projects. The majority of the projects increased animals' access to pasture or improved their welfare. However, a few of the projects were marketing focused.
For example, FACT awarded East Fork Farm in North Carolina a grant to buy sausage making equipment and to acquire training. This marketing focused grant allowed East Fork Farm to expand its business and add a new value-added product: fresh ground sausage. Other previously funded projects include installing wind curtains on barns for cow comfort and warmth in the winter, constructing mobile housing to protect chickens while rotating the birds on pasture, and purchasing electric fencing to enable a farm to transition to a pasture-based, rotational system for raising hogs. The projects not only make a difference in the lives of several thousand farm animals, but also positively impact the livelihoods of family farmers.
Alexis and Gillies Robertson, funded farmers with Skyelark Ranch in Brooks, Calif., stated, "We are getting a lot of requests for our pork, but cannot increase our herd until we have proper fencing in place. This grant will help us continue to grow our business, as well as ensure the pigs are being raised on pasture to our standards."
FACT will offer two online information sessions on the Fund-a-Farmer grant application process in February. Interested farmers can join the organization on February 11 at 1 p.m. CST or February 12 at 6p.m. CST. Farmers can register online for either of these free sessions.
Founded in 1982, FACT is a national nonprofit organization based in Chicago that promotes food safety and humane farming.

USPOULTRY Foundation awards $18,377 grant to University of Arkansas

USPOULTRY board member Bill Bradley, left, presents Dr. Mike Kidd of the University of Arkansas with a USPOULTRY Foundation student recruitment grant.
The USPOULTRY Foundation recently awarded an $18,377 student recruiting grant to the Poultry Science Department at the University of Arkansas. The check was presented by Bill Bradley, vice president of egg production for CCF Brands and USPOULTRY board member, to Dr. Mike Kidd, director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science and head of the Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas. Justin Whaley, president of CCF Brands, assisted in the check presentation.
"We will use the funds to recruit future industry leaders into our department. These funds are vital for our recruitment efforts that encompass both high school and community college programs. Our growing undergraduate numbers are a reflection of USPOULTRY's support via the USPOULTRY Foundation, "said Kidd.
The USPOULTRY Foundation board recently approved student recruiting grants totaling more than $183,000 to the six U.S. universities with poultry science departments and 14 other institutions with industry related programs. The foundation provides annual recruiting funds to colleges and universities to attract students to their poultry programs.

NC State University receives $21,480 USPOULTRY Foundation grant

John Prestage, left, USPOULTRY board member, presents the 2013 foundation check forto Dr. Mike Williams, head of the NCSU Prestage Department of Poultry Science.
The North Carolina State University Prestage Department of Poultry Science received a grant in the amount of $21,480.96 from the USPOULTRY Foundation, which was established to provide financial support for student recruiting efforts at universities with poultry science departments that award degrees in poultry science.
Dr. Mike Williams, head of the NCSU Prestage Department of Poultry Science, reported that this grant enables the department to offer a Poultry Science Summer Institute in which high school students are competitively selected for participation based on their academic achievements and legitimate interest in poultry science. During the summer institute course, the students are introduced to all aspects and opportunities offered by the poultry industry. Williams noted that several of these students are subsequently admitted into the department as poultry science majors.
Since 1994, the US Poultry & Egg Association's Harold E. Ford Foundation has provided more than $304,173 in financial support to enhance recruiting and retention efforts for North Carolina State's poultry science program.

Grant funds available for poultry processing projects in Vermont

The Working Lands Enterprise Board of Vermont is offering $40,000 in grant funds for investment in poultry processing projects in Vermont. Grant money must be used for the construction of a mobile or fixed, state or federally inspected poultry slaughter and/or processing facility.
The poultry processing grant funds are administered by the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative, and is the first of four grant areas to be released in fiscal year 2014. An additional $1.215 million in available funds for other areas will be announced later in October.
The Vermont Working Lands Enterprise Board is an impact investment organization whose mission is to grow the economies, cultures and communities of Vermont's working landscape by making essential, catalytic investments in critical leverage points of the Vermont farm and forest economy, from individual enterprises to industry sectors. The group began operations in August, 2012 and in the fiscal 2013 budget year it awarded more than $1 million in grant funds.

USPOULTRY Foundation awards grant to North Carolina State University

North Carolina State University has received an $18,279 student recruiting grant from the USPOULTRY Foundation.
Dr. Mike Williams, interim head of the poultry science department at North Carolina State University, was presented with a check by John Prestage, vice president of Prestage Farms and U.S. Poultry & Egg Association board member. “It is essential that we communicate to pre-college students the value of a degree in poultry science and the opportunities that will be available to successful graduates to help meet the growing personnel needs of this important food production industry," said WIlliams. "These funds enable us to get that message to future potential students and subsequently recruit those students into our programs here in the Prestage department of poultry science at North Carolina State University. The number one message that I hear from our poultry industries is that we need to be graduating more students with a genuine interest in working in this global industry."
The USPOULTRY Foundation board recently approved student recruiting grants totaling more than $160,000 to the six U.S. universities with poultry science departments and 15 other institutions with industry related programs. The foundation provides annual recruiting funds to colleges and universities to attract students to their poultry programs.

USPOULTRY, foundation approve $290,762 in research grants

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the USPOULTRY Foundation have approved a total of $290,762 for eight new research grants at six institutions.
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 latest research grants from each institution include:

• Development of Campylobacter jejuni Proteins as In Ovo Vaccines for Broiler Chickens — U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service
• Pilot Study – Colostomy and Urine Collection Protocol for Investigating Potential Inciting Causes of Hen Diuresis Syndrome — Mississippi State University
• Role of Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) in Necrotic Enteritis Development — Auburn University
• Frequent Application of Litter Amendments in Broiler Houses — University of Delaware
• Understanding Arkansas IBV Vaccination Failures — University of Georgia
• Factors Affecting Air Velocity and Heat Removal in Tunnel-Ventilated Broiler Houses — University of Georgia
• Ultrasonics and Its Synergy for Poultry Water Disinfection — Georgia Tech Research Institute
• Pathotyping of Current Marek's Disease Virus Field Strains and Identification of Sequence Variants to Predict Virulence — U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service

Liberia gets US$1 million grant for poultry farming

Liberia has received a US$1 million grant from Nigeria to begin a poultry farming project, according to Liberia's Minister of Agriculture Florence Chenoweth, that will produce consumable poultry products and bring an end to imports.
“We want to bring to an end the importation of poultry products, specifically eggs, by the end of this year," said Chenoweth. “We’ll have at our site in Grand Cape Mount County over 70,000 day-old chicks. Some of these will be given to other farmers who have an interest in poultry farming.” The project, known as Obasanjo Farm after the Nigerian President Olusengun Obasanjo, is meant to help reduce the incidence of bird flu that comes from imported products and raise the quality of local production.
The Liberia ministry is also working on a corn production program to produce local feed for the chickens. Chenoweth said the poultry farming project and its corn feeding program will create job opportunities for Liberians, especially young people who want to engage in poultry farming.