The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University has released its first year-in-review research report featuring 22 new, ongoing or completed research projects.

The report for 2017 provides brief takeaway messages for egg farmers and others on research that has been conducted by center researchers or by researchers who have been funded through its grant program. It also points readers to online resources that feature additional research details and media coverage of the projects.  

“It is gratifying to see the work of so many people come together and yield real results for the entire egg industry,” says Hongwei Xin, Egg Industry Center director and assistant dean for research at Iowa State’s College of Ag and Life Sciences. The EIC is administered by the college.

For example, the report includes:

• Auburn University’s completed research on the role of litter beetles, water, feed and rodents on the transmission of avian influenza

• Egg Industry Center ongoing research on the potential mitigation of ammonia and particulate matter generated in cage-free laying hen housing systems

• ISU’s newly funded research comparing the gut and lung microbiome of laying hens raised in different housing systems

While the center started in 2008, it was not until 2013 that its endowment funds reached a level that could support research projects. The center is working to reach its $10 million endowment goal for research, but the dividends already being paid keep growing. 

“Producer and researcher impacts are exactly why we created EIC, and it is encouraging to see it come to fruition in such a short timeframe,” Xin says. “I believe we will begin to see tangible ways that the EIC funding is increasingly impacting the careers of researchers, especially junior faculty members.” 

The report is available online.

Source: Iowa State University