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The detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds and domestic flocks in several Eastern and Midwestern states is prompting urgent calls from Penn State poultry experts for flock owners — and others who may come into proximity to flocks — to step up their biosecurity practices. At risk is Pennsylvania's large poultry industry, the state's second largest agricultural sector.

There are many opportunities to participate in undergraduate- and graduate-level research in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. The benefits are numerous, and two graduate students in the Department of Animal Science, Emily Van Syoc and Sophia Kenney, are among those reaping these benefits.

Some white-tailed deer living in Staten Island, New York, are actively infected with the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2, according to new research led by scientists at Penn State. The team also found neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in one of the Omicron-infected deer, suggesting that, like humans, deer can be reinfected with the virus.

Seven students in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have received predoctoral fellowships from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The students received a combined total of nearly $1.1 million — the most received for this year's fellowships among U.S. universities.

Penn State Extension invites pig producers and other agricultural industries to join the “Farrowing Induction and Your Sows” hybrid workshop/webinar event from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 24 in Greensburg.

Penn State’s Department of Animal Science’s Poultry Club placed second in the National Club of the Year competition held at the 2022 International Poultry and Processing Exposition (IPPE) in Atlanta, GA, last week in person, after a virtual event last year. The club also won Scrapbook of the Year, an honor they have achieved in 24 of the past 26 years.

Penn State Extension invites sheep and goat producers, as well as other agriculture industries, to join the “Wrangling More Days Out of the Grazing Season for Sheep and Goats” web-based seminar Feb. 22. 

Two Penn State students this fall were among 15 young, beginning and small-scale Pennsylvania farmers who received $10,000 AgChoice Farm Credit Jumpstart Grants. Mikara Anderson, of Hustontown, and Jake Grim, of Biglerville, will use the funding to develop their farm-related businesses.

Faculty, staff and students joined University leaders, HOK architectural firm and Turner Construction Co. executives, donors, and guests on Dec. 1 for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the new Animal, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Building on Penn State's University Park campus.

The Penn State Collegiate Poultry Judging Team earned first place at the 55th National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest held at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.

Research conducted in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences suggests that some Holstein dairy cattle, particularly those with white coat coloration, naturally fend off the horn fly, a parasitic insect known to cause stress and disease in grazing cattle.

Three Penn State Animal Science students participated in the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge, held in-person after a virtual event in 2020. Hosted by SUNY Morrisville, 66 students participated from nine different universities.

The Penn State Poultry Science Club is again selling turkeys to members of the Penn State and surrounding communities just in time for delivery the week of Thanksgiving.

Blair Steele, a fourth-year student in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is using the knowledge and skills she has acquired from her work at Penn State's Beef-Sheep Center to advance her career goals.

A team of undergraduates from Penn State University’s Block and Bridle and Dairy Science Clubs was named Reserve National Champions in the American Society of Animal Science’s (ASAS) Academic Quadrathlon competition, held July 17-18 as part of the 2021 ASAS Annual Meeting & Trade Show in Louisville, KY.

Penn State’s meat processing laboratory and retail operation in the College of Agricultural Sciences supports comprehensive research and teaching on all aspects of meat science.

The Penn State Butcher School, offered by Penn State Extension, is now seeking applications for its second session, starting in January 2022.

The late-July disclosure that African swine fever was discovered in Dominican Republic pigs — the first time the disease has been found in the Western Hemisphere in 40 years — rocked the pork-production industry, but Penn State Extension has been preparing for the disease’s arrival for nearly three years.

Troy L. Ott, Ph.D. Professor of Reproductive Physiology in Penn State’s Department of Animal Science, and Associate Director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, will become president of the Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) at their August business meeting.

Alan Johnson, former Walther H. Ott Professor in Avian Biology in Penn State’s Department of Animal Science, has been named a fellow of the Poultry Science Association.

Alexander N. Hristov, Ph.D., P.A.S., distinguished professor of dairy nutrition in Penn State’s Department of Animal Science, has been recognized as the 2021 recipient of the American Feed Industry Association Award, presented during the virtual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association.

Jud Heinrichs, Ph.D., Professor of Dairy Science at Penn State, has been awarded the 2021 Service to American/World Agriculture Award by the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) at its annual meeting held virtually from Philadelphia, PA, July 6-9.

The Penn State Dairy Science Club was well represented at the 2021 American Dairy Science Association—Student Affiliate Division (ADSA-SAD) meetings held virtually from July 11-13.

As he retires from Penn State at the end of June, Terry Etherton, distinguished professor of animal nutrition, is known in animal science circles around the world as a pioneer for his research. But in the College of Agricultural Sciences, he also is recognized as a leader whose steady hand guided the Department of Animal Science for more than 22 years.

A Penn State research team has received a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop novel strategies to overcome the constraints that the seasonal cycle imposes on reproductive output of turkey hens.

Danielle Smarsh, assistant professor of equine science and equine extension specialist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, will be honored by the American Society of Animal Science for applied educational efforts in equine exercise physiology.

Participation in 4-H and a part-time job in the poultry industry hatched a promising future for Lindsey Bright, leading her to Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the Penn State Poultry Education and Research Center.

Alyssa Lyons received a "Certificate of Excellence" for her research findings presented at the International Poultry Scientific Forum (IPSF)

Agricultural sciences and leadership are top priorities for Penn State sophomore Mikara Anderson. As the 2019 Pennsylvania State Fair Queen, 2020 FFA state president and active member of the Penn State Dairy Science Club, Anderson continues to build her resume and network as part of the exclusive Presidential Leadership Academy at Penn State.