UEP President Chad Gregory and Sr. VP of Food Safety Oscar Garrison recently toured the Piedmont Research Station Poultry Farm in Salisbury, North Carolina.   The tour was facilitated by Dr. Ken Anderson and Dr. Patricia Curtis of North Carolina State University’s Prestage Department of Poultry Science.    N.C. State is one of only six universities in the country that has a poultry science department.

The Piedmont Research Station is operated by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and is one of 18 research stations in the state.   Originally established as the Piedmont Test Farm in 1904 near Statesville, the station was moved in 1954 to its present site on 1,044 acres. Research at the station is divided into four research units: dairy, poultry, field crops and horticultural crops.

The poultry facility focuses on commercial research including incubation, broilers, and commercial layers.   In addition, the facility is utilizing spent fowl in medical research to develop an avian model to increase the understanding and ultimate reduction of ovarian cancer.

The commercial layer facilities include various housing systems including conventional, enriched colony, cage-free, and free-range production.   Current research is focused on the performance of different genetic stock, biological research, and different housing systems.    Dr. Anderson is currently seeking industry funding to complete a multi-tier aviary housing system that will be utilized in future research projects.  Those wishing to learn more about this project can contact Dr. Ken Anderson at  ken_anderson@ncsu.edu.

Picture:  Left to Right: Oscar Garrison, Dr. Patricia Curtis, Dr. Ken Anderson, Chad Gregory, Teresa Herman