Midwest Poultry Research Program

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The Midwest Poultry Profitability Research Program (MPPRP) effectively addresses the priority research needs of the poultry industry in the Midwest (Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin), to help improve the sustainability, efficiency, and profitability of poultry production through integrated and collaborative research and technology transfer. With funds from CSREES, Iowa State University (ISU) and the Midwest Poultry Consortium jointly administer the MPPRP through a call for applications. The Midwest Poultry Consortium then manages a competitive, peer-reviewed process and selects individual projects to receive funding after receiving applications from all eligible state universities. The Midwestern institutions have made substantial progress in poultry research over the past several years and have provided important information that has positively affected the poultry industry. Recent studies have focused on animal welfare, waste management and environmental issues, value-added product development, nutrient utilization, and food safety, and results have helped refine poultry nutritional requirements, alternative feed ingredients, space requirements, molting procedures, and management practices. Additionally, researchers have identified biomarkers for beneficial traits, mechanisms of muscle growth, and practices to reduce malodorous compounds; as well as developed new vaccines and food products. This information has increased bird welfare, producer profitability, food safety and quality, and environmental quality. Recently, developments in the area of biorenewable energy have resulted in a dramatic increase in the price of grain. This has led to a parallel increase in poultry feed, a major cost input for the poultry industry, which has negatively affected the profitability of the poultry industry. The magnitude and longevity of this negative impact is uncertain and difficult to predict, and research will be a key factor in addressing some of the related, new concerns of the poultry industry. This initiative will provide a structure to facilitate multi-disciplinary research networks that enhance limited state and industry resources, and have the scope to address real-world problems. It also will develop new regional collaborative approaches in research and technology transfer involving land-grant and other universities, the federal government, and the private sector. The individual projects receiving funding were competitively selected by a panel of industry personnel and university scientists. The 12 selected individual projects will be conducted by 10 institutions and the Midwest Poultry Consortium. A total of 21 scientists will direct the work conducted in the individual projects. The funded projects cover a diverse spectrum of poultry-related topics that are of socio-economic impacts to the region and scientific merits to the literature.

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APPROACH: This research program includes 12 individual projects to be conducted by 10 institutions (Iowa State University, Michigan State University, North Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, University of Illinois, Purdue University, University of Florida, The Ohio State University, University of Minnesota, and Hy-Line International) and the Midwest Poultry Consortium. A total of 21 scientists will direct the work conducted in the individual projects. The funded projects cover a diverse spectrum of poultry-related topics that are of socio-economic impacts to the region and scientific merits to the literature. Project subjects include: 1) Anti-Salmonella and Anti-Camp. Properties of Sodium Metasilicate on Commercially Available Ready-to-Cook Broiler Breast Meat; 2) Comparison of Carcass Appearance, Texture Quality, and Sensory Profile of Broiler Chilled by Air, Evaporative Air or Water Immersion; 3) Development of Evaluation of a New Precision-Fed Chick Assay for Determining Amino Acid Digestibility and Metabolizable Energy of Feed Ingredients; 4) Regulation of the Growth of Poultry Skeletal Muscle; 5) Determination of Ileal Digestibility of Amino Acids from Feed Ingredients for Laying Hens; 6) Effects of Feeding Low-Density Diets to Hy-Line W-36 Laying Hens on Production and Profitability; 7) Assessing Hen Response to Ammonia and Thermal Comfort Combinations via Preference Test; 8) Enhancing Foaming Properties of Egg Albumen by Using Modified Soy and Egg Proteins; 9) Energy Value of Corn Co-Products as Affected by Fat and Fiber Components; 10) Development of Immunogens to Protect Against Turkey Cellulitis, Part II; 11) Coccidiosis in Game Birds: A Proposal for Research on the Disease Agents, Their Control by Existing Drugs, and Control by Immunization, Part III; and 12) Midwest Poultry Outreach Project.