June 12, 2008
AMES, Iowa - A daylong program designed to share the latest Iowa State University research on poultry manure with the poultry industry will be held July 10 in Ames. "Water Quality and Layer Manure as a Fertilizer" will be in room 275 at the Scheman Building, Iowa State Center.
"With the increasing cost of fertilizer, we're looking at how to best utilize poultry manure as a resource for the crop production system," said Maynard Hogberg, chair of Iowa State's animal science department and a key organizer of the meeting. "We wanted to bring the latest research to the industry now so it can of use in the 2009 growing season."
There is no cost to attend the meeting, which is sponsored by Iowa State and the Egg Industry Center. In January, the Iowa Egg Council pledged $2 million towards the establishment of the Egg Industry Center.
"The Iowa Egg Council has partnered with Iowa State for many years by funding research into how to best handle and use layer manure," said Kevin Vinchattle, executive director of the Council and the Iowa Poultry Association. "This program will help producers learn how to use this valuable fertilizer resource to benefit their operations."
All presenters are researchers or faculty members at Iowa State in the departments of agronomy, animal science and agricultural and biosystems engineering. The program begins at 9:30 a.m. with three presentations on the water quality aspects of using poultry manure as fertilizer. Another six presentations will cover the value of poultry manure for crop production, eggshells as a liming material, impacts of nutrition on manure composition, manure sampling techniques, the economic value of poultry manure and selling manure. The meeting adjourns at 3 p.m.
Although there is no cost, registration is requested by July 1 to help organizers plan for refreshments and lunch. For registration information, contact Peg Uthe at (515) 294-6994 or pluthe@iastate.edu.
At its March 2008 meeting, the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, approved Iowa State's proposal for an Egg Industry Center. The goal is to eventually operate the center from a $10 million endowment, of which the Iowa Egg Council has pledged the first $2 million.
Hogberg said the July 10 meeting where Iowa State personnel will share research findings with individuals in the poultry industry is a good example of the type of programming the Egg Industry Center will offer.
The new center will be modeled after the Iowa Beef Center and the Iowa Pork Industry Center. In addition to strong partnerships with egg groups in the state, plans are for the center to develop relationships and funding partnerships with the national egg industry as well as other land-grant universities.