The Egg Industry Center (EIC) at Iowa State University has released its first year-in-review research report featuring 22 new, ongoing or completed research projects.

The report provides brief takeaway messages for egg farmers and others on research that was conducted by EIC researchers or by researchers who were funded through its grant program. It also points readers to online resources that feature additional research details and media coverage of the projects.

“It is gratifying to see the work of so many people come together and yield real results for the entire egg industry,” said Hongwei Xin, EIC director and assistant dean for research at Iowa State’s College of Agriculture & Life Sciences.

For example, the report includes:

* Auburn University’s completed research on the role of litter beetles, water, feed and rodents on the transmission of avian influenza;

* EIC's ongoing research on the potential mitigation of ammonia and particulate matter generated in cage-free laying hen housing systems, and

* Iowa State’s newly funded research comparing the gut and lung microbiome of laying hens raised in different housing systems.

Although the center started in 2008, it wasn't until 2013 that its research endowment funds achieved a level that could support research projects. The center is working to reach its $10 million endowment goal for research, but the dividends it pays keep growing.

“Producer and researcher impacts are exactly why we created EIC, and it is encouraging to see it come to fruition in such a short time frame,” Xin said. “I believe we will begin to see tangible ways that the EIC funding is increasingly impacting the careers of researchers, especially junior faculty members.”

The report is available here.

EIC is focused on providing value to the U.S. egg industry through information dissemination and collaborative research efforts. The center is committed to ensuring that the current and future needs of the egg industry can be answered through sound science-based information.