FAYETTEVILLE, ARK. — The Poultry Science Smart Farming Research Facility is now operational and ready for research, announced the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. A grand opening was held on May 15 to celebrate the $1 million project’s completion.

“There’s no question that this facility is the most sophisticated poultry research facility in our state, and some of the elements are unique to universities,” said Jean-François Meullenet, director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station and senior associate vice president for agriculture-research for the University of Arkansas System. “That should position us very well with leading research in poultry production and nutrition and allow for quick adoption of our research findings by the industry.”

The 16,000-square-foot poultry house includes floor pens with commercially relevant rearing equipment and internet-connected sensors. The smart farm capabilities offer a training ground for students as well as an environment for researchers to study poultry production.

The new facility features integrated systems that track water and feed intake as well as climate conditions in the poultry house. Data is stored in a cloud-based storage service that updates every 15 minutes and can be accessed through an app.

The project was made possible through industry support, the university noted.

In 2017, Tyson Foods supported the renovation of seven facilities. Aviagen was next to invest in the University of Arkansas, matching the required funding to complete the smart farm. Reliable Poultry supported the project by donating all the rearing equipment.

“The technology and data this state-of-the-art facility can provide will help us continuously improve our processes and give us the tools to move the poultry industry into the future,” said Chip Miller, senior vice president of live operations at Tyson.

Earlier this year, the U of A also received a $1 million grant to develop poultry processing robotics. Over the next four years, the university’s agriculture division will work to design a robotic system that can hang raw chicken at the same capacity as human workers. The robotics will be tested in the Arkansas Experiment Station’s pilot chicken processing plant.