WattAgNet: Egg Industry Center to fund research projects

 

Call for research proposals targets key areas of egg production

Release Date: 2014-05-16

The Egg Industry Center (EIC) is seeking pre-proposals for egg industry-oriented research to fund through its grant award program. The EIC research grant program is intended to focus research on the top concerns in the egg industry while providing a platform to explore other opportunities for the industry’s future.

The IEC’s call for proposals primarily targets the following areas:

• Egg quality and egg safety
  
• Prevention and intervention of focal duodenal necrosis disease in laying hens
  
• Behaviors of laying hens in enriched colony housing systems
  
• Alternative uses of egg yolk in piglet diets for enhanced piglet health
  
• Responses of laying hens to lighting management and economic implications
  
• Practical mitigation of emissions
  

“The number of pre-proposals in response to the 2013 call created a highly competitive selection process,” said Hongwei Xin, director of the EIC and Iowa State University (ISU) professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and animal science. “The 24 submissions highlighted even more the need for the research endowment the center has established to serve industry and those affected by it.”

Researchers can find submission information at on the EIC website. The deadline for pre-proposals is June 16. After a review of the pre-proposals, finalists will be notified to submit a full proposal for further consideration.

The full proposals will be reviewed by a committee of area-specific experts for scientific merits. The committee submits evaluations to the EIC Board of Directors, which determines the winning proposals.

The board consists of producers, industry and academic leaders from across the United States and Canada. This group annually identifies a list of targeted research topics included in the Request for Proposal and a broader list of research priorities.

The Egg Industry Center was established at ISU in 2008. Its mission is to add value to the egg industry by facilitating research and learning for egg producers, processors and consumers through national and international collaboration.