North Carolina Food Animal Initiative
Establishing North Carolina as the world leader in food-animal biosciences.
A Grand Challenge in Animal Agriculture
North Carolina is a recognized leader in food-animal production. Agriculture contributes $84 billion to the state’s economy and generates 663,200 jobs. More than 60% of that impact stems directly from food-animal systems — and that’s not counting offshore marine fisheries and plant-based agribusiness that supplies feedstocks.
At North Carolina State University, we’re helping North Carolina become the world leader in food-animal sciences by coordinating new research with existing, proven infrastructure. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) have partnered to lead this interdisciplinary initiative. As our work grows, we’ll enlist the support of our partners at NC State and other land grant universities, government and industry.
Feeding 9.5 Billion by 2050
Requires a 73% Increase in Animal Food Production.
Our Initiative Will Make N.C. a Leader in Feeding the World.
A Strategic Approach to Real Innovation
To encourage collaborative research in animal science, CALS and CVM will fund three competitive Strategic Enrichment Research Grants. Led by faculty members from both colleges, each grant will function as a separate investigation into the production health of swine, cattle and poultry.
Areas include:
- Developing a system for reducing Porcine Reproductive Syndrome virus in reproductive sows.
- Developing antibiotic use guidelines to mitigate antibiotic resistance in microbes and ensure food safety.
- Developing a project to aid Ethiopian poultry producers to enhance livestock production.
We have the resources, partners and skilled personnel to shape the state’s food-animal industry’s growth.
North Carolina Food Animal Initiative: A Feasibility Study
The report entitled The North Carolina Food Animal Initiative: A Feasibility Study was jointly commissioned by NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Veterinary Medicine to evaluate core competencies in the animal and poultry sciences, veterinary medicine and associated disciplines, and to study the feasibility of building upon our capabilities by establishing a Food Animal Initiative (FAI). The report’s goal is to provide a path forward for North Carolina to grow its number-one industry.
Partnership Focus
Partnering with industry leaders, we’re bringing interdisciplinary sciences together to solve grand challenges and bring new ideas to market faster.
| Participating Departments | |
|---|---|
| Agricultural and Resource Economics (CALS) | Plant and Microbial Biology (CALS) |
| Animal Science (CALS) | Prestage Department of Poultry Science (CALS) |
| Applied Ecology (CALS) | NC State Extension |
| Biological and Agricultural Engineering (CALS) | Clinical Sciences (CVM) |
| Crop and Soil Sciences (CALS) | Molecular Biomedical Sciences (CVM) |
| Entomology and Plant Pathology (CALS) | Population Health and Pathobiology (CVM) |
| Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences (CALS) | Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences (COS) |
| Horticultural Science (CALS) | Forestry and Environmental Resources (CNR) |
| Molecular and Structural Biochemistry (CALS) |
Contact
For more information, contact Celeste Brogdon.
Celeste D. Brogdon
celeste_brogdon@ncsu.edu
(919) 515-7857