Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Students Attend Poultry Conference

More than 20 high school students from as far as Monette, up to Lake Ozark, Mo., experienced a taste of college life at the University of Arkansas during the second annual Poultry Science Youth Conference sponsored by the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science July 7- 9.

The conference is designed to foster interest in the poultry industry, the University of Arkansas and the UA poultry science department through industry tours, scientific and informative sessions and recreation.

Hands-on educational sessions conducted by poultry science faculty and staff members introduced students to scientific research and presentation techniques.

Students neutralized bacteria during a session with Mark Parcells and identified E. Coli during a session with Lisa Newberry. Nick Anthony and graduate student Val Melnycuk conducted a poultry anatomy session and Jason Emmert conducted sessions on waste management and presentation organization. Amy Waldroup set up a taste evaluation for the students in the CEPS test kitchen and spoke about food safety issues.

"It is amazing how well students respond to information related to the agricultural sciences," Gary Davis, poultry science undergraduate planner, said. "This excellent group of students seemed to be interested in the very technical areas of poultry science."

Representatives of Tyson, Inc., Roche Vitamins, Inc., Wade Jones Company and Cargill, Inc. spoke to students about careers in the poultry industries and sponsored meals during the conference.

Recreational activities included a cookout hosted by CEPS director James Denton, ice skating at the Jones Center, a picnic at Lake Wedington, a tour of the Tyson office and a dance at the Poultry Science Center.

The three-day conference culminated with scientific presentations given by student teams. Each team created a slide presentation and reported on research conducted during an educational session.