News Stories - Page 7

Four University of Georgia programs will receive federal support as part of the $1.7 trillion funding package signed into law in late December. These funds will support scientific research, engineering projects and outreach programs that benefit citizens living in Georgia and throughout the nation.

Each year, hundreds of international researchers — from master’s degree students to academic faculty — apply to come to the University of Georgia to work in a wide range of academic fields. In the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, dozens of international research scholars are working with faculty on important research that furthers the mission of the college while benefiting visiting scholars and their home institutions.

The Luther and Susie Harrison Foundation has pledged $3 million in support of the Poultry Science Building project at the University of Georgia. The pledge — the largest single gift to the building to date — will fund the lobby of the Poultry Science Building.

Lexi Pritchard, a 12th grade 4-H’er from Oconee County, won first place individual at the National Poultry Judging Contest in Louisville, Kentucky, held Nov. 15-16 as part of the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference. Pritchard scored 1350 points out of a possible 1500 and received top honors as an individual competitor.

In 1958, a carpenter named LC Powers built himself and his wife, Ruby Nell, a broiler house on their family’s land in northeast Georgia. The chicken house could hold 10,000 chicks, but there was barely enough electricity to power a few light bulbs in the open-sided building. The Powers’ great-granddaughter, Kylie Bruce, recounted her great-grandparents’ story at the groundbreaking for a new, technologically advanced Poultry Science Building.

Genetic improvement, particularly improvements related to animal production, has been one of the most transformational agricultural advancements in our history. The breeding of healthier, more productive livestock has been achieved through genetic selection over the course of time, both through natural genetic selection and through increased use of artificial insemination.