Center of Excellence for Poultry Science
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Fall 1996
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Reflecting on Our First Anniversary
Dr. James Denton, Director
Center of Excellence for Poultry Science
It is difficult to believe that it has already been a year since we were involved in the excitement and pressure of the last minute scramble of the preparations for the Dedication of the Poultry Center. We have been progressing in the development of our program in a number of areas including faculty additions, student enrollment, facilities, program support and research/education efforts. We have had four new faculty members join our program this year providing expertise in the areas of extension education in layers and turkeys, student recruitment, molecular genetics, and molecular virology. During the next few months we expect to add faculty members whose responsibilities will include breeder nutrition, extension education in broilers and undergraduate curriculum coordination.
Student recruitment has been a priority in our program since we began in 1992. As a result of the efforts of our new student recruitment coordinator, Gary Davis, we have seen the largest number of new students enrolling in Poultry Science since we began the program. Other activities that help to strengthen our student relationships include the Scholarship Reception in which the donors are recognized and the recipients are provided the opportunity to express what the scholarship support means to them personally. Scholarship recipients also are provided the same opportunity to express thanks for the Arkansas Feed Manufacturers Scholarships during the Arkansas Nutrition Conference.
The Poultry Center faculty participated in a strategic planning retreat for the purpose of examining the research priorities of the Center and revising the graduate curriculum in Poultry Science. The faculty in the Center have also made it a priority to become more involved in the meetings and discussions of the industry such as the Arkansas Poultry Improvement Committee, the Arkansas Allied Industries Committee and the Arkansas Turkey Industry Committee. It is through closer communication with the industry personnel in each of these organizations that we will develop the type of program which will be of the greatest benefit to our industry.
There have been several exciting additions to the facilities since our dedication. Through a grant with the Department of Commerce, we have seen the installation of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences ADEC satellite uplink which will enhance our distance education capabilities. In addition, we have added a commercial broiler breeder research and education unit through a lease with George's, Inc. This farm is uniquely configured to allow four half-house replicates in validating research findings on a commercial field level scale similar to the four-house broiler energy unit at Savoy. We also have the added benefit of providing our students the opportunity to gain valuable experience in breeder farm management as part of their education in poultry science.
The faculty members in the Center are continuing to work very hard to communicate their research findings to the poultry industry in a format that is more concise and less technical than traditional journal publications. Under the direction of Dr. Walter Bottje, the Center is now publishing Research Updates, which contain the most current research findings from projects in which our faculty has been actively engaged.
The faculty continues to strive to develop the type of programming that is essential to meeting the challenges presented in today's environment. Examples of this type of training program include the HACCP workshops currently being conducted under the leadership of Dr. John Marcy, and the seminars for Russian visitors being conducted under the leadership of Dr. Park Waldroup.
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UA Judging Team Finishes Strong
The University of Arkansas hosted nine teams with a total of 35 contestants for the National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest November 4-5. The Arkansas Poultry Improvement Committee and the Arkansas Poultry Federation sponsored the event which included teams from Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University, University of Arkansas, Louisiana State University, West Virginia University, University of Wisconsin at River Falls, Crowder College, Kansas State University and North Carolina State University.
MSU finished first in overall team competition with TAMU finishing second and UA finishing third. Arkansas also took first place team in the production division. Chasadee Bohannon won the top individual competition, and Cody Polley placed 9th. Bohannon also finished first in the breed selection division, Debra Henderson was 7th and Jason Braziel was 9th.
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Donation to Poultry Center
Bob Squires, Manager of Commercial Egg Division, George's, Inc., recently presented James Denton, Center Director, and Don Allen, Executive Vice President Arkansas Poultry Federation, with a $12,708 check from the S.E. Poultry and Egg Association and Harold E. Ford Foundation for support of CEPS student recruiting and educational programs.
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Recruitment in Full Swing
Thirty-three new students were welcomed to the Poultry Science Department for the 1996 fall semester. The addition of the incoming students brings the total undergraduate enrollment to over 90 students. The increase in enrollment is consistent with the trend that has developed since the establishment of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science.
Student recruitment efforts have been addressed by a variety of methods including high school visits, teacher and counselor training tours and Poultry Science Center open house activities. Scholars' Day and other campus-wide activities were also utilized as recruiting efforts.
Activities designed to promote poultry science to high school students are the State Fair Broiler and Turkey contests and the Buffalo Island Broiler Contest. In 1996, over 400 youth were contacted through these events.
A University of Arkansas Poultry Science presence was maintained at the Ark-Okla State Fair, Arkansas State Fair and Land Grant Days. The Poultry Science Department booth was tended by students and faculty to promote poultry science as a major.
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Center Site of HACCP Workshop
The Center of Excellence was host to a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)
Workshop, Sept. 14-19. The workshop was designed to train quality assurance people in the requirements of meeting new regulations being imposed on the meat and poultry industries by the USDA.
Individuals from area poultry companies attended the four-day workshop to gain a better understanding of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and HACCP.
Dr. John Marcy, Center of Excellence, and Jon Porter, J. Porter and Associates, Ltd., conducted the workshops. Porter conducts "Good Manufacturing Practices" workshops throughout the nation. Dr. Amy Waldroup, Center of Excellence, also spoke about three basic approaches to eliminating microbes in poultry.
Trainees were introduced to the new "Mega-Reg;" learned how to write, implement and maintain GMPs; created and presented SSOPs and wrote HACCP programs.
On Jan. 27, 1997, SSOPs will take effect in all processing plants; HACCP procedures will be required in large plants by Jan. 26, 1998. Workshops like the one conducted at the UA put necessary information in industry hands so that companies can better meet these new requirements.
The workshop was sponsored by the Arkansas Poultry Federation, the Food Safety Consortium, ECOLAB Food and Beverage Division and the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science.
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Retreat Generates Ideas for Faculty
In early August, the Center faculty met for a two-day retreat to discuss such areas as graduate studies, research objectives, and extension and outreach programs. The facilitators were Casey Wade, George's, Inc., and Russell Bragg, O.K. Foods, Inc. (President, Arkansas Poultry Federation Board). Tasks are being identified in graduate teaching, research collaboration and technology transfer expansion through extension and outreach activities.
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Poultry Pays
As the 1996 Arkansas State Fair in Little Rock drew to a close, a few young Arkansans found something about which to crow.
Exhibitors of the Grand and Reserve Champion broilers and turkeys will receive full-tuition scholarships to major in Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The student must meet the minimum academic standards for Poultry Science freshmen or transfer students.
Eric Wright, freshman at Quitman High School, exhibited the 1996 Grand Champion pen of broilers; Scarlett Selkirk, a 6th grader at North Main Elementary, Greenwood, exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion pen of broilers; Lance Wright, a freshman at ASU-Beebe, exhibited the Grand Champion turkey; and Rhonda White, an 8th grader at Junction City Junior High School, exhibited the Reserve Grand Champion turkey.
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Processors Focus on Change
The 1996 Processors Workshop, held Nov. 6-7 at the Clarion Inn in Fayetteville, focused on positive ways of dealing with changes in the poultry industry.
Topics varied from the apparent culture gap in the work force to upcoming enforcement of Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans. Dan Brenner of the Labor Department's Wage and Hour Office in Little Rock spoke to processors about tightening enforcement of labor laws, and Mike Mullins, Cargill, Inc., gave an "Insider's view of Washington."
President Bill Clinton also made a guest appearance the day after being elected to a second term. Ok, it was a Clinton impersonator, but "Mr. President" delivered an entertaining speech for attendees.
Greg Lee, Tyson Foods, Inc., and Russ Bragg, OK Foods, Inc. (President, Arkansas Poultry Federation Board), spoke about trends in the poultry industry and marketing strategies for the future.
The Arkansas Processors Committee, the Arkansas Poultry Federation and the University of Arkansas sponsored the workshop.
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Center Hosts Russian Delegation
The Center of Excellence was host to a Russian Delegation sponsored by Tyson Foods, Inc. and International Rotary. The delegation visited the UA Oct. 28-30 for a three-day introduction to the U.S. poultry industry.
The mornings were spent with UA faculty members giving updates on current research projects and issues of concern. The Russian group toured the University farms, feed mill, health lab, and pilot processing plant in the afternoons.
The group was comprised of private citizens, from producers to processors, with interest in poultry. They seemed most appreciative of the opportunity to learn about the American poultry industry and enjoyed the hospitality shown to them in Arkansas.
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Center Faculty Members Speak at Conference
Four poultry science faculty members were among the presenters at the Arkansas Nutrition Conference held in September at the Clarion Inn, Fayetteville. The conference was sponsored by the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Poultry Federation and the Arkansas Feed Manufacturers Committee.
The university presenters were Dr. David Barnes, who spoke on "Manipulation of Nutrient Partitioning to Maximize Growth in Poultry"; Dr. Gisela Erf on "Nutrition and Immune Function in Chickens: Benefits of Dietary Vitamin E Supplementation"; Dr. John Kirby, "Effect of Transient Hypothyroidism and Limited Interval Feed Restriction Release on Sexual Development in Breeder Broiler Males"; and Dr. Park Waldroup, "Consideration for Dietary Amino Acid Levels and Nutrient Density for Growing Large Males for Further Processing."
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Faculty Profile: Michael F. Slavik
Dr. Slavik is a member of a three-state Food Safety Consort-ium consisting of Kansas State University (beef), Iowa State University and NADC (pork) and the University of Arkansas (poultry).
As a member of the consort-ium, he is involved in several cooperative projects with emphasis on developing rapid methods to identify foodborne bacterial pathogens and finding innovative methods to reduce or eliminate these pathogens from food. As a result of this work, several rapid methods to identify Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella and other foodborne bacteria have been developed utilizing techniques such as genetic probes, fluorescent immunoassay, and image processing analysis. In addition, cooperative research is ongoing with sci-entists in the Bio-logical and Agricultural Engineering Department and the University of Arkansas Medical School to reduce foodborne pathogens. Other research projects include isolation from Chinese fermented food bacteriocins with activity against Gram- and Gram+ bacteria.
Slavik teaches a course on Pathogenic Bacteriology of Domestic Animals. In this course, various aspects of bacterial diseases are discussed with emphasis on mechanisms of disease prevention. Slavik enjoys interaction with students and helping them attain their goals in science.
He received an under-graduate degree from Drake University, and a M.S. in Bacteriology and Ph.D. in Veterinary Microbiology and Preventative Medicine from Iowa State University. During this time, he did research on Mycoplasma hypopneumoniae--swine pneumonia.
Slavik came to the UA in 1977 and specialized in mycoplasmal diseases of chickens. He changed the focus of his research during the late 1980s to food safety.
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Electrical Pasteurization Yields Positive Results
Experimental electrical pasteurization as a way of reducing Salmonella on chicken carcasses, a Food Safety Consortium project being researched at the University of Arkansas, is producing positive results in a pilot project under the direction of Yanbin Li, assistant professor of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and Michael Slavik, professor of Poultry Science.
In Li and Slavik's research, chicken carcasses were inoculated with Salmonella bacteria and dipped into a tank of water with one of four chemicals including sodium chloride, sodium carbonate, sodium bisulfate and trisodium phosphate. Then low-voltage electricity was applied. Salmonella was reduced by various numbers using the four chemicals in conjunction with the electrical treatment. In each case, the amount of Salmonella that was reduced exceeded the reductions recorded when chemicals were used alone without electrical treatment.
Li explained that the carcasses don't have enough conductivity for low-voltage electricity, so the use of chemicals must be included to act as conductors. The water alone provides only low conductivity.
Electrical treatment can reduce Salmonella by up to 1.5 logs, Li said. Logs represent a relative measurement. For example, if a carcass contains 10,000 bacteria, that is 10 to the 4th power, or 4 logs of bacteria. If the number is reduced to 1,000 bacteria, that is 10 to the 3rd power,or 3 logs of bacteria. So there is a 1-log reduction.
"The final goal we want to see is at least a 2- to 3-log reduction on chicken carcasses with an acceptable treatment time," Li said.
Li's current efforts are aimed at determining the treatment time necessary to achieve at least a 2-log reduction, the ideal water temperature and how much electrical current to use.
Under the current system, the treatment time is five minutes. That is too long for industry's needs, which keeps a shackle line moving at the rate of 60 to 90 birds passing by every minute.
Other options being investigated include increasing the water temperature as a way of reducing the treatment time and combining the methods of regulating water temperature with the use of bacteriocidal chemicals.
A combination method would allow the use of chemicals at a low concentration and the acceleration of the electrical treatment. The challenge is to determine if that formula will reduce treatment time to 10 to 20 seconds.
"That should be a practical time," Li said, "Industry would have no problem to accept the technology immediately."
Li and Slavik are also testing a chemical-spraying method for reducing bacteria on poultry carcasses during processing. An inside-outside bird washer was recently installed at the university pilot processing plant, but it is still too soon to determine any conclusions about the technology.
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Molecular Virologist Joins Faculty
Mark Parcells has joined the Center of Excellence team as an assistant professor of molecular virology.
Parcells received a B.S. degree in Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware in 1984. He then worked as a research technician at the DuPont Company until 1988 when he returned to the University of Delaware for graduate study. He received his doctorate in Biological Sciences from the University of Delaware in 1994 and began postdoctoral study in the Department of Animal Science at Delaware.
His postdoctoral work has involved a number of research projects that have accompanied him to his position here at the University of Arkansas.
Parcells' research has focused on a disease of poultry called Marek's disease (MDV)--a rapidly-induced cancer of chickens that is caused by a highly-transmissible herpesvirus. His research employs recombinant DNA technology to identify the function of genes encoded by MDV.
Parcells and his wife, Sandy, have two children, Nola and Duncan.
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Rennier Associates Donates Scholarship
Rennier Associates, a marketing and research firm in Olathe, Kan., recently donated $1,000 to the UA Poultry Science Department scholarship fund. The gift was donated on behalf of an anonymous respondent who participated in Rennier Associates' 1996 Feed/Water Satisfaction Tracker.
"I am grateful to everyone that participated in this study," said Dr. Greg Rennier, President of Rennier Associates, "I feel that a scholarship provides an added bonus and is an excellent way to say 'thanks' and show our support for this industry."
The Poultry Science Department will use the gift to supplement their general scholarship fund.
The Tracker measures customer satisfaction among suppliers of poultry feed ingredients and water-soluble antibiotics.
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Vet Residency Program Approved for Center
The American College of Poultry Veterinarians has approved a residency program for poultry veterinarians in the University of Arkansas' Center of Excellence for Poultry Science (CEPS).
The 18-month program will prepare participants for the American College of Poultry Veterinarians certification exam, said Dr. Kirk Skeeles, a veterinarian in the UA poultry science department.
"The residents must be licensed, or eligible to be licensed, to practice veterinary medicine in Arkansas, and they will spend most of their time working on problems in the poultry industry," Skeeles said.
They will also be involved in UA poultry health research and will work with the staff of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission's Diagnostic Laboratory in Springdale, he said.
Dr. James Denton, CEPS director and Poultry Science Department head, said, "This is a great opportunity for veterinarians to work with some of the world's leading poultry health researchers in our new laboratories."
The residency program will be supervised by a committee made up of UA faculty members, the director of the poultry disease diagnostic laboratory, and at least three poultry industry veterinarians. It will be supported in part by grants from poultry companies and allied industry firms that provide poultry health services and products.
Sponsoring companies are asked to donate $5,000 per year, and they will receive a minimum of 25 days per year in veterinary support by the resident, Skeeles said.
Initial corporate sponsors include the I.D. Russell Company and Hoffmann LaRoche, Inc., which pledged five years of sponsorships.
Hoechst-Roussel has also pledged sponsorship by donating a vehicle to the program. Skeeles said, "The residents will spend most of their time working away from campus with major commitments to the poultry industry outside of Northwest Arkansas. A good vehicle is essential, and the donation by Hoechst is significant to the success of the program."
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First Veterinarian Resident Welcomed
Dr. Steve Breeding, a native Arkansan, is the first resident of the new UA veterinarian residency program.
In 1986, Breeding graduated Summa Cum Laude, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C., with degrees in animal science and poultry science. He also received a Masters in physiology at NCSU, obtained his D.V.M. and did an internship in avian medicine by 1993.
Breeding was the Scientific Director and Staff Veterinarian at the Fish Springs Ostrich and Cattle Ranch, Reno, Nevada, until January 1996. He was the Staff Veterinarian at Oro Verde Ostrich Farms, Knightdale, N.C., until entering the UA residency program.
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Faculty Notes
At the request of the USAID program in Slovakia, Walter Bottje spent a week in Slovakia (Sept. 21-28) obtaining information about the current situation and needs of the Slovakian Poultry Industry. During the week he met with directors of several major poultry companies: the Rector and Dean of the Agricultural University (Nitra), the Director of the Product Board for Poultry and Eggs (Jan Sabik), State Secretary (Marian Lipka) and Director of the Foreign Relations Department (Lubomir Micek) for the Ministry of Agriculture, Slovak Republic. He was invited to present a talk entitled, "Lowering Oxidative Stress with Santoquin; Relationship to Endogenous Antioxidants, Growth and Ascites Syndrome" at the VIII Simposia de Avancos Technologicos meeting sponsored by Novus International, Inc. - Divisao Latinoamerica October 11 and 12 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was also invited to give talks for a series sponsored by BASF, Canada, entitled, "Role of Oxidative Stress in the Pathophysiology of Pulmonary Hypertension Syndrome" Nov. 5, 6 and 7.
David Chapman made an invited presentation in June on the "Biological Activity of Nicarbazin" to a meeting of poultry veterinarians and nutritionists held at Virginia Beach, VA. He was also elected as a representative of the College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences to serve on the Faculty Senate of the University of Arkansas.
The Federation of American Societies of Food Animal Sciences selected James H. Denton as one of six members of the Safe Meat and Poultry Inspection Panel created in the 1995 Farm Bill. Dr. Denton also gave an invited presentation on the "Regional Center of Excellence Concept" in a symposium on Partnerships in Poultry Science at the Poultry Science Association annual meeting in Louisville, Ky., in July.
A task force to develop a generic HACCP poultry slaughter model included James H. Denton as team leader and Amy Waldroup. The task force was organized by the International Meat and Poultry HACCP Alliance to assist in restructuring the federal meat and poultry inspection system based on HACCP principles.
The Poultry Science Association cited Park Waldroup as an authority on the integration of a variety of nutritional components in the formulation of poultry diets.
Robert F. Wideman made an invited presentation on "Understanding Ascites" at the Louisiana Poultry Seminar, Shreveport, March 13. He also gave an invited presentation on "Metabolic and nutritional interactions in broiler proventriculitis" at the Roche Animal Nutrition and Health Enteric Disease Conference March 21-24 at Campbellton, Texas. Dr. Wideman gave an invited presentation on June 25 about "Understanding ascites: the biological basis for developing practical management strategies" at the Poultry Service Veterinarians Seminar, Hedera, Israel. He made the invited presentation "El impacto de la arginina sobre la ascitis en pollo de engorda" on Sept. 26 at the Fermex/Roche Conference on Technological Advances in Animal Nutrition, Guadalajara, Mexico, and again on Sept. 27 at the 8th Fermex Conference on Synthetic Amino Acids, Mexico City, Mexico. Dr. Wideman also gave an invited presentation on "Pulmonary vasodilators and ascites in broilers" at the 13th Biokyowa Amino Acids Council Meeting, St. Louis, Mo., October 1.
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Grants Awarded
W.G. Bottje and G.F. Erf. Southeastern Poultry and Egg Assoc. Effect of Vitamin E on Immune System and Ascites Mortality in Broilers. $8,439.
H.D. Chapman. Pfizer, Inc. Usage of Anticoccidial Drugs and Growth Promoters in Turkey Diets. $11,100.
F.D. Clark. Southeastern Poultry and Egg Assoc. Reduction of High Incidence of Hepatic Foci in Commercial Turkeys. $2,003.
J.H. Denton. Merck Co. Foundation. Amoco Foundation, Inc. Kemin Industries, Inc. Newly Wed Foods, Inc. Nutra Blend Corp. Procure Equipment for the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science. $106,000.
J.K. Skeeles. Southeastern Poultry and Egg Assoc. Infectious Bursal Disease Virus as a Cause of Proventriculitis in Chickens. $4,500.
A.L. Waldroup. Alcide Corp. Poultry Research. $6,976. Cargill. Poultry Microbiology. $10,010.
P.W. Waldroup. H.J. Baker and Bro. Poultry Nutrition. $3,500.
R.F. Wideman. Nutri-Quest, Inc. Poultry Research. $3,904.
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Symposium Cancelled
The International Ascites Symposium scheduled for January 1997 has been cancelled due to an insufficient number of advance registrations.
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Poultry Expo
The 1997 International Poultry Exposition will take place January 22-24 in Atlanta. For more information contact the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association at (770) 493-9401.
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Computer Lab is Open
The Center of Excellence has opened its computer lab doors to students, faculty and staff. D.J. Dabbs is the monitor for the room located in room L-101 of the Center
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Student Notes
Matt Drewyor of Huntsville received the $3,000 Hubbard Farms Scholarship for 1996-97.
Debra Henderson of Newark is the 1996-97 recipient of the $5,000 Randall Tyson Memorial Scholarship.
Lisa Newberry received the Ben Pomeroy Award for the Best Graduate Student Paper at the North Central Avian Disease Conference held at Columbus, Ohio. Her paper was on the interaction of infectious bursal disease virus and copper sulfate as a cause of proventriculitis in chickens.
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Poultry Science Club Activities
Members of the Poultry Science Club sifted broilers and turkeys for the State Fair junior shows, and served many hungry people at the Allied Industries' Chicken Kitchen during this year's Arkansas State Fair.
The Arkansas Poultry Processors were served a hot breakfast by the club Nov. 7. Club members made hot omelets and breakfast burritos with chorizo.
The club raised broilers and turkeys to help pay for the trip to the International Poultry Exposition in Atlanta, Jan. 22-24.
Ian Panton, president of Ross Breeders, Inc., spoke at the club's Dec. 4 meeting.