TUCKER, GA. — The USPOULTRY Foundation awarded a $10,000 student recruiting grant to Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in University Park, Pa., to support the university’s poultry science department and growth of young industry professionals.
Penn State offers an animal science major that follows two primary tracks — one focused on veterinary medicine and research and the other on industry and business. Both tracks include poultry-related courses, such as avian physiology, poultry production and poultry evaluation.
In 2005, Penn State established a poultry and avian science (PAS) minor. The PAS minor is pursued by students from across a variety of disciplines, including agriculture science, agricultural business and management, food science, veterinary and biomedical science, and agriculture and extension majors. The program is lead by seven faculty members who specialize in poultry and avian science, covering areas like physiology, nutrition and feed manufacturing, welfare, egg production and quality, layer and breeder production, metabolism, functional genomics, genetic engineering, diseases, meat quality, reproductive biology, endocrinology and processing/products.
The poultry program seeks to improve engagement with the industry. As part of these efforts, the program actively supports 4-H and National FFA poultry initiatives, while recruiting interested youth. Last year, the Penn State Extension reached more than 204,000 youth statewide. Historically, more than 70% of students in the PAS minor have come from 4-H or FFA poultry programs.
Through USPOULTRY’s grant funding other youth-focused poultry programs like the Youth Poultry 101 Program will be supported. Youth Poultry 101 is an annual program that engages teenagers between 12 and 19 years old to expand their knowledge of poultry science topics like disease management, nutrition, incubation, breeding and show preparation.
In total, the USPOULTRY Foundation board has approved student recruiting grants amounting to $324,215, which have been distributed across 28 colleges and universities in the United States with a poultry science department or industry-related degree program.