Research Overview

The major goal of the research in this Department is to optimize efficiency of production, while maintaining or enhancing the environment. Emphasis is placed on science-based research. In the research with food-producing animals, research is directed toward production of nutritious and safe animal products. In equine research, the emphasis is to optimize nutrition of high-performance horses for recreational purposes. Appropriate health and care of the animals is of paramount importance in the research.

Research conducted by the faculty in Animal and Poultry Sciences is directed to the problems and opportunities in the poultry, red meat animal, and horse industries, with special emphasis to Virginia. The program includes research in breeding and genetics, nutrition, reproductive physiology and behavior. In each discipline, efforts are made to maintain an appropriate balance between basic and applied research. The underlying theme of the research is efficiency of production with emphasis on total production systems. Some research in management is conducted, usually related to one of the major disciplines. A sizeable portion of the research is cooperative with scientists from other departments, such as Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, Agricultural and Applied Economics, Biological Systems Engineering, Food Science and Technology, Dairy Science, and the College of Veterinary Medicine. Some research is conducted cooperatively with USDA-ARS Scientists and other universities. Furthermore, a number of the scientists participate in regional projects.

In addition to the research on campus, a considerable amount of research is conducted at Agricultural Research and Extension Centers and cooperating farms. That research is coordinated by or cooperative with Scientists in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences. Extension specialists are also involved in research. This research is usually on applied problems and cooperative with research scientists.

The Research Program is integrated with the Graduate Training Program, which is a complimentary relationship. The Research Program provides the opportunity and resources for thesis and dissertation research. The graduate students provide creative and innovative ideas to enhance the research, and personnel to accomplish the research. In fact, the majority of the research in peer reviewed publications is from thesis and dissertation research.

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