News
Applications
Poultry
Research
UGA poultry gets a boost from 2022 Georgia budget
May 14, 2021 by Bree Rody
With the fiscal year 2022 Georgia budget now signed off on, the University of Georgia has officially secured a commitment of $21.7 million for the construction of phase one of a new Poultry Science Complex in Athens. The project will significantly increase the size of the department’s existing facilities, adding instructional and lab space, providing new facilities and helping attract more researchers.
The labs will allow UGA to add production courses and demonstrations, as well as field-learning exercises. It will also provide meaningful community connection by allowing UGA to expand its youth programs including FFA and 4-H.
“The new building will feature facilities and equipment to provide for advanced research to keep Georgia at the forefront of forward-thinking, relevant poultry research, advancing its UGA Cooperative Extension and outreach programs,” said Todd Applegate, head of the department of Poultry Science in a statement. “This will keep staff on the cutting-edge to ensure that industry and government entities increasingly seek them out to address research questions. It will also strategically provide UGA with a competitive advantage in terms of attracting extramural funding to lead innovation to solve grand challenges facing the poultry sector.”
He added, “The demand for poultry continues to grow with each new generation and the University of Georgia is committed to attracting the best and the brightest, and developing them into future leaders.”
The building campaign is a public-private partnership. Its estimated total project budget is $54.1 million. Other funding for the project included $2.2 million from the state as part of the current fiscal year. A final capital budget request of $3.2 million to equip the building is slated to be included in the University System of Georgia’s fiscal year 2023 capital budget request. Private funding is underway for the project as well. Construction is scheduled to begin next year and conclude in 2023.
