Texas A&M, industry partners usher in new era for Poultry Science Department

Emerging partnerships with the poultry industry have Texas A&M University poised to bolster an already nationally recognized Department of Poultry Science.

Patrick J. Stover, Ph.D., vice chancellor of Texas A&M AgriLife, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, announced recently that more than $850,000 in financial commitments have been designed to draw faculty and deliver infrastructure improvements to the top poultry department in the nation. Stover also hopes to see this number grow throughout the future as part of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Science’s commitment to the poultry science department.

“We value the relationships built between the poultry industry and Texas A&M,” he said. “For many decades, Texas A&M has supported the industry through science and education and helped the industry improve its capacity and efficiency. These initial commitments by companies and individuals within poultry are testament to the mutually beneficial past, present and future shared by the university and our poultry partners.”

Stover said he hopes the collective commitment from the college, individual donors and corporate partners within the industry will help the university recruit and retain the best faculty, continue to grow the department’s research portfolio, provide graduate students world-class training, and attract and expand the top undergraduate class in the nation who represent the skilled workforce needed to advance the industry in Texas, the nation and globally.

 

Public-private partnerships across the entire food value chain will continue to buttress and enhance the university’s land grant mission to develop science to create future food systems that deliver life-long human health, protect the environment and natural resources for future generations, and that ensures agriculture is economically viable for stakeholders, Stover said.

“Achieving this mission and goal for the food system will require all of Texas A&M and Texas A&M AgriLife’s expertise in research, extension, education and service and support from industry stakeholders,” he said. “For a sustainable future, we must ensure that agriculture is the solution to human health, environmental health and economic health.”

Poultry is the second largest agriculture commodity in Texas, and its continued growth and ever-changing production challenges make the Department of Poultry Science a strong partner.