TUCKER, GA. — The USPOULTRY Foundation recently awarded three universities $12,775 through student recruiting grants. The grants go toward supporting universities in attracting students to their poultry programs.

The following universities were awarded: Delaware Valley University ($2,310), University of Delaware ($3,465) and Wilkes Community College ($7,000).

With the funds, Delaware Valley University plans to enhance its undergraduate poultry science course by adding a live bird husbandry component. Students will be able to learn about poultry husbandry firsthand, including biosecurity, nutrition and feed efficiency. The university also plans to use the funds to help defray the cost of connecting with leaders at Perdue Farms to experience a commercial scale operation and to network with Delaware Valley alumni currently working at Perdue.

The University of Delaware plans to use the funds to support the Animal Agriculture Careers Seminar series and Northeastern Student Affiliate (NESA) Regional Conference. The Animal Agriculture Careers Seminars feature speakers from a variety of companies representing breeder, broiler and layer operations, as well as poultry equipment and biologics and other allied industries. The NESA conference allows students to demonstrate their poultry and animal science knowledge, as well as present original research on poultry topics.

The third grant recipient, Wilkes Community College, will use the funds to recruit high school students into its poultry program, raise awareness of career options in the industry and promote the industry's impact on the economy. Additionally, funds will be used to support FFA activities and promotional items to increase awareness of poultry industry careers further. Finally, a youth poultry workshop will be offered in the Western North Carolina area, allowing participants to learn about topics like candling eggs, egg breakout, grading eggs, grading carcasses, dissecting birds and identifying poultry anatomy.

In 2023, the USPOULTRY Foundation board approved student recruiting grants totaling $297,580. The funds were distributed to 26 colleges and universities across the United States.