TUCKER, GA. – USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation recently approved $408,000 for five research grants at four institutions through the Comprehensive Research Program.
The program started in the early 1960s when funds were first approved for poultry disease research. It’s grown into a program that touches on all poultry and egg production and processing phases. Since it began, the Comprehensive Research Program has reinvested more than $35 million into the industry through research grants. More than 50 universities and federal and state facilities have received grants.
“Research is one of the cornerstones of USPOULTRY’s and the Foundation’s service to the poultry industry,” said Jarod Morrison, Farbest Foods and USPOULTRY chairman. “The Foundation Research Advisory Committee is the core of the research program with committee members volunteering many hours reviewing and evaluating research proposals before making recommendations for funding. We sincerely value and appreciate their time and commitment.”
USPOULTRY detailed the projects for this round of grants at each institution including:
DNA Immunization as a Safe and Economical Vaccination Strategy Against Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus (ILTV) to Enhance Mucosal Protection in Primary Sites of Infection
- University of Georgia (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Fieldale Farms Corporation)
Use of Qualitative and Quantitative Microbial Data to Determine if Turkey Pre-Chill and Post-Chill Sampling Are Predictive of Salmonella enterica Contamination in Ground Turkey
- Kansas State University (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Cargill)
Discovery of Novel Anthelmintic Resistance Genes to Reduce Production Loss Caused by Blackhead Disease
- Northwestern University (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Pilgrim’s)
Control of Enterococcus cecorum Through Identifying Its Dynamics of Adaptation to the Chickens and Its Environment
- Mississippi State University (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Wayne-Sanderson Farms)
Identifying a New Pre-Harvest Gold Standard Salmonella Sampling Strategy to Predict Salmonella Burden on Broiler and Turkey Flocks Arriving for Processing
- University of Georgia (research grant made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Prestage Farms)
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 poultry and egg industry segments who represent various scientific disciplines.
