Browse Poultry Stories - Page 9

Farmers can’t control when drought, a late freeze or violent crop-wrenching storms will affect their fields, but they can be prepared when those disasters come knocking.

The widespread drought that’s made national headlines this week will probably be a boon for some Georgia corn producers, but a costly burden for the state’s poultry and beef industries.

University of Georgia animal and dairy scientist Ignacy Misztal develops software programs to help cattlemen select more productive cow couplings. His unique bovine matchmaking skills have earned him an international fan base of animal breeders and researchers.

The practices that can help us save energy in our own homes, like sealing leaks, insulating and updating cooling systems and replacing light bulbs, are also being used to make Georgia’s prolific poultry industry more efficient — one chicken house at a time.

Chickens can’t speak, but they can definitely make themselves heard. Most people who have visited a poultry farm will recall chicken vocalization – the technical term for clucking and squawking – as a memorable part of the experience.

Despite an uncomfortable mix of wet, cold and windy weather, North America’s premier farm show, the Sunbelt Ag Expo, marched on this week in Moultrie, Ga. More than 70,000 visitors perused the wears of 1,200 vendors, a North Carolina farmer was tapped as the Southeast’s top and land-grant universities brought their messages to the masses.

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.

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.