Source: CAL POLY CORPORATION submitted to
TRAINING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS FOR SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF POULTRY
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1030156
Grant No.
2023-67037-40316
Cumulative Award Amt.
$738,438.00
Proposal No.
2022-10336
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Aug 1, 2023
Project End Date
Jul 31, 2028
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[A7401]- Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates
Project Director
Kang, I.
Recipient Organization
CAL POLY CORPORATION
(N/A)
SAN LUIS OBISPO,CA 93407
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Poultry became the world's most consumed meat in 2019. The overall goal of this project is to train undergraduate/underrepresent students to empower sustainable poultry production through academic research, industrial collaboration, and continuing education. Cal Poly locates about halfway between two cultural hubs of Southern and Northern California and fosters the teaching of undergraduate students with the motto of Learn-by-Dong. In this project for 5 years, 25 students will be trained to explore their career paths in academia, business, and government. Students will have a mentor/mentee relationship with 11 potential mentors that will continue beyond the life of this project.To achieve this goal, the specific objectives will be performed as below:1) Students will be recruited mainly from local community and junior colleges.2) Students will be trained in broiler feeding, algae growth, bird processing, microbial safety, and sensory evaluation. 3) Students will be connected with the poultry and food industries who look for trained and skilled persons. 5) Students will be equipped for future opportunities available in academia, industry, and government sectors. 4) Students will have an industry and USDA-AMS study tour.At the completion of this proposal, we will conduct an exit interview and will track students beyond the life of this project, maintain partnerships with community colleges, and expand the industry connection.
Animal Health Component
60%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
60%
Developmental
20%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
50232203020100%
Knowledge Area
502 - New and Improved Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
3220 - Meat-type chicken, live animal;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education;
Goals / Objectives
The major goal of this project is to train undergraduate/underrepresent students to empower sustainable poultry production through academic research, industrial collaboration, and continuing education. To achieve the goal, five undergraduate students/year will be trained in a stepwise approach as bellow: 1) algae production, 2) chicken feeding, nutrition, and management, 3) broiler processing/fabrication, 4) microbial population and certification of HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point), and 5) consumer sensory evaluation. In addition, students will have industry study tours for broiler farms, processing plants, equipment production/equipment distribution, and Innovative Feed Ingredient. At the end of training and education, students will be equipped for industrial jobs or advanced academic programs including masters' program with a HACCP certification.
Project Methods
For the 5-year project (20 weeks training/year), five targeted students per year will be recruited from local community colleges for three students and Cal Poly for two students. For efficient recruitment, the proposal purpose will be announced throughout agricultural colleges and departments at community colleges and Cal Poly. Selected students will be intensively trained for the four major areas: 1) Chicken Feeding, Nutrition, and Management; 2) Poultry processing with chilling method; 3) Microbial population and hazard analysis critical control points (HACCP), and 4) Consumer sensory evaluation. During the 12 weeks in summer, students will take classroom lectures for the introduction of poultry management, broiler processing, and food sfety/HACCP in the afternoon while they are feeding broiler chickens and checking feed intake and body weight gain in the morning. After summer, students will be continuously educated via on-line class to complete the courses including a HACCP certification. During the winter, students will have two industry study tours for two weeks. In California, students will have a one-week tour for poultry farms, processing plan, and poultry farm equipment distribution. In North Carolina, students will have another week's study tour for poultry processing equipment and high-performance enzyme feed additives. With the industry tours, students will understand meat industry operations from harvest to retail and/or food service, interact with key industry workers, and have opportunities to observe regulatory and facilitating roles in USDA-AMS. Results of this proposal will be analyzed using ANOVA, and relationships between the treatments and the biochemical and quality parameters will be analyzed using correlation analysis. Scholarly data and interpretation will be reported to scientific conferences or peer-reviewed journals.

Progress 08/01/23 to 07/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience would be the meat and poultry scientists in academia and the poultry industry who are working on poultry production and processing. In addition, the people in the algae industry for production and utilization will be the target audience. Poultry consumers who look for good safety and quality meat would be the ultimate target audience. Changes/Problems:One student did not complete the meat industry tours due to a medial issue and another student was replaced with an alternative. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Throughout the year, students received extensive training and professional development opportunities in line with the project schedule. All undergraduate students gained hands-on experiences and collaborated with graduate students and a postdoctoral researcherduring sample collection and subsequent analysis. They also developed professional connections during industry tours and virtual meetings with USDA personnel. Students were equipped with the certification of HACCP, poultry production, and poultry processing skills. Graduate students developed their leadership skills by supervising undergraduate participants in the project activities. Key experiences included: Poultry ban preparation - broiler floor pen, experimental unit, and feed including diet formulation for starter, grower, and finisher. Algae production - media preparation, inoculation, and weight calculation. Broiler production - bird weight, feed consumption, and feed conversion rate. Broiler transportation - following the guidelines of institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC). Broiler processing - shackling, stunning, bleeding, defeathering, evisceration, and chilling. Chilling evaluation - chilling efficiency and chilling yield using traditional and innovative methods. Carcass evaluation - muscle pH, sarcomere length, shear force, and visual defects. Microbiological assessment - evaluating the populations of total plate count, E. coli, coliforms, and Salmonella. Sensory attribute - evaluating consumer sensory attributes of broiler fillets. Industry tour - visiting 7 industry plants and farms in California, and 3 industry/academic plants in North Carolina. HACCP - receiving the certification of HACCP for all students. Mentor/Mentee - receiving one-on-one mentor/mentee activity from 5 mentors. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The unique results of broiler production using algae supplements and broiler processing using an innovative method have been disseminated through conference presentations. Five oral and poster presentations have been made in the national and international conferences such as The 2024 Poultry Science Association, The 100th Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, and The 36th CSU Biotechnology Symposium. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To accomplish the goals for the upcoming reporting period, student recruitment will begin late this year, and new students will be confirmed for year-long training. The training will focus on boiler production and processing, with students raising young chicks and processing market size broiler during summer. Additionally, students will participate in meat industry study tours in California during winter break and in another state during summer vacation. They will also receive training for HACCP certification and engage in one-on-one mentor and mentee activities.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Student Recruitment At the beginning of the spring semester, recruitment flyers were distributed, and students were selected based on their application materials, resumes, and interviews conducted by staff at Allen Hancock Community College, Cuesta College, Modesto Junior College, and Cal Poly. The selected participants include one male and four female students (three from underrepresented group). Poultry Unit, Feed Preparation, and Algae Growth Students prepared broiler pens with wood shavings, set up experimental units, and formulated corn/soybean meal diets with and without algae supplement (Uronena or Spirulina) at 0%, 2.5%, and 5%. The diets were formulated for starter (1 - 14 days), grower (15 - 28 days), and finisher (29 - 42 days). They also gained hands-on experience in algae media preparation, inoculation, and growth on a small scale. Broiler Production A total of 700 one-day-old broiler checks (350 per algae) were vaccinated, transferred, and sorted into 26 pens (18 pens/algae, 15 broilers/pen). Students shared their responsibility for caring for birds twice per day for feed, water, and health at the Cal Poly poultry unit. Each time, feeders were filled, sick and dead birds were removed, and appropriate temperature and light were ensured. Once a week, live birds were weighed, feed consumption was recorded, and feed conversion rate was calculated. Broiler Processing At 42 days of age, feed was withdrawal for 8 hours, birds were placed into crates, and transferred to the Cal Poly Meat Processing Center (MPC). At the MPC, students were trained on how to process live birds using standard processing methods such as shackling, stunning, bleeding, scalding, defeathering, and evisceration. Carcasses were then chilled using either a traditional water immersion chilling method or an innovative subzero saline chilling method. During chilling, students measured chilling time, hot carcass weight, chilled carcass weight, and chilling yield. After chilling, students measured the color of breast skin and skinless breast. After fabrication, breast fillets were used to evaluate muscle pH, sarcomere length, cooking yield, and shear force for meat tenderness. Meat industry tour and USDA Livestock & Poultry Program During the winter break, students participated in a meat industry and study tour in California such as Foster Farms (broiler and turkey processing), Alpha Inc (poultry farm/processing equipment), Denaire (squab huts), certified meat products (meat/poultry processing), Courage Production (sausage, hot dog), and Abco Laboratories (spice extract and mixture). During the summer break, students participated in an additional meat industry and study tour in North Carolina for Morris Associates (poultry equipment production), BioResource International, Inc (poultry feed ingredients), and Poultry Science Department at North Carolina State University. They also attended virtual meetings with USDA Livestock & Poultry Program staff in California and North Carolina to gain insight into agricultural marketing and industry standards. Mentor/mentee and HACCP Students completed an intensive four-day training program to achieve HACCP certification through the International HACCP Alliance. They engaged in one-on-one sections with professionals from academia, industry, and USDA to discuss career development, professionalism and leadership skills.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ahn, D., Patel, S., Kang, I., Beckerman, E., Bennett, D., Pokharel, S. 2024. The Dietary Supplement of Spirulina on Carcass Traits and Quality Characteristics of Broiler Meats . Poultry Science Association, Louisville, KY. July 2024.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Beckerman, E. Kang, I., Patel, S., Thiessen, N., Bennett, D. 2024. Effects of Spirulina Supplementation on Broiler Performance. The 100th Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, Kona, Hawaii.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: 3) Patel, S., Beckerman, E. Pokharel, S., Bennett, D., Kang. 2024. Effects of Spirulina Supplementation on Carcass Weight, Visual Appearance, and Meat Quality of Broilers. The 100th Pacific Egg and Poultry Association, Kona, Hawaii.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Beckerman, E. Kang, I. S. Patel, N. Thiessen, Bennett, D. 2024. Effects of Spirulina Supplementation on Broiler Performance. The 36th CSU Biotechnology Symposium. Santa Clara, CA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Patel, S., Beckerman, E. Pokharel, S., Bennett, D., Kang. 2024. Effects of Spirulina Supplementation on Carcass Weight, Visual Appearance, and Meat Quality of Broilers. The 36th CSU Biotechnology Symposium. Santa Clara, CA.