WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons join Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) to applaud the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s announcement of 40 grants totaling more than $15.7 million for agricultural research on the production of beef, dairy, poultry, pork, and fish that people consume every day. The funding is made possible through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill. Specifically, the Senators and Representative Blunt Rochester are applauding the $500,000 grant awarded to the University of Delaware for the study of broiler chicken metabolism and growth. This particular study is designed to help our understanding of the genetic and nutritional needs of broiler chickens, which could improve the overall productivity of the industry. 

“Poultry is essential to the Delaware economy. The First State ranks eighth in the nation in production value, and among counties in the nation, our very own Sussex ranks first in meat production,” said Senator Carper. “This grant will help continue vital research into best practices so we can make sure this industry remains successful for years to come.”

“This USDA NIFA grant is another great example of the many ways in which the University of Delaware and Delaware as a whole have benefitted from federal funding,” said Senator Coons. “Investment in innovation and the discovery of valuable advances from it are critical to ensuring that our country’s agricultural economy continues to grow.”

“Research and innovation in our agriculture industry is becoming increasingly important as product demands grow,” said Congresswoman Blunt Rochester. “The University of Delaware has already been doing some exciting research and I’m thrilled this grant will allow them to continue and build on that work for the betterment of our state and the industry on the whole.”

The University of Delaware received over $3 million in competitive grants from AFRI in Fiscal Year 2015, the last year for which full data is available.  This funding supported research on topics as diverse as chicken breeding, food safety, nutrient cycling, and crop adaptation to new environments.

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative is America’s flagship competitive grants program for foundational and translational research, education, and extension projects in the food and agricultural sciences. The AFRI Foundational program supports research in several priority areas, including animal breeding, reproduction, nutrition and growth. These grants help improve the quality and efficiency of animal production in a variety of ways, such as through the creation of genetic databases, enhanced breeding methods, and research on the cellular, molecular, genetic, or whole-animal aspects of reproduction, nutrition, growth, and lactation. 

More information on the Fiscal year 2016 grants is available on the NIFA website.

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