News Stories - Page 31

After just two days of developing in the egg, a chicken’s heart beats. Students discovered the beating organ firsthand after cracking open eggs to learn about embryo development in “Chickenology,” a seminar course offered by the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Four University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences faculty members were awarded the college’s highest honor Oct. 4 in Athens, Ga., at the annual D.W. Brooks Lecture and Faculty Awards for Excellence.

The poultry industry in Georgia has grown steadily since the 1940s. Like all of agriculture, poultry has had its share of ups and downs. Right now, it’s facing a perfect storm created by high corn prices, escalated fuel prices and a down economy.

A team of researchers from the University of Georgia and the U.S. Department of Agriculture is working to develop a new technology to breed chickens resistant to Newcastle Virus.

A report this week from the Foreign Agricultural Service and the USA Poultry & Egg Export Council shows U.S. poultry meat exports in February increased by 15 percent in quantity and nearly 18 percent in value over the same month last year. This signals an improvement in the world economy, but also shows the value of our ports and agriculture’s driving force to improve our economic situation.

In February, University of Georgia poultry experts traveled to the West African country of Mali to establish a poultry and biogas program to improve food security and expand economic opportunities for Mali’s rural poor population, especially its women.