Ongoing support from the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association (USPOULTRY) and the USPOULTRY Foundation will help the University of Georgia Department of Poultry Science grow its impact on students and on the poultry industry. 

USPOULTRY, which has pledged $125,000 over five years to student recruitment funds for the department, has contributed approximately more than $6.5 million in research funding and student recruitment grants since 1994. These special grants provide the department with readily available funds to identify and recruit students pursuing poultry science degrees and conduct research that has helped improve the poultry industry.

“We are pleased to commit these funds to recruit the best and brightest students into poultry science as the department plans its new, modern, state-of-the-art facility at the University of Georgia,” said USPOULTRY President John Starkey.

CAES is currently in a fundraising campaign for the construction of a new Poultry Science Building that will increase the size of the department’s existing facilities to more than 70,000 square feet; modernize instructional and lab space; provide centralized, student-focused facilities; and help to attract and retain world-class researchers. Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2022 with completion in fall 2023.

“We very much appreciate the USPOULTRY Foundation’s support of our recruitment efforts and look forward to continuing to expand our poultry science and avian biology programs,” said Todd Applegate, head of the Department of Poultry Science in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “The outreach and recruiting programs for students entering the poultry and allied sectors are keenly reliant on the generous support of the USPOULTRY Foundation and its supporting donors.”

The gift from USPOULTRY will not go toward the construction project, as the organization does not fund brick and mortar projects. USPOULTRY’s mission is to progressively serve the poultry industry through research, education, communication and technical assistance. Founded in 1947, USPOULTRY is based in Tucker, Georgia. The USPOULTRY Foundation’s mission is to support the recruitment and training of the brightest students, seek and fund scientific research, foster student scientists and promote careers in the poultry and egg industry. 

For more information on the CAES Department of Poultry Science, visit poultry.caes.uga.edu.