Gene Pesti looks at an international impact when he stares
down at his new text, Poultry Nutrition and Feeding.
"The better educated producers are about poultry nutrition,
the more efficient they will be and the lower the cost," he
said. "And lower costs mean more food for people around
the world."
Only eight university departments teach poultry science in
the United States, said Pesti, a UGA College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences professor of poultry science and
animal nutrition.
"There are many more poultry teaching facilities in the
rest of the world," he said. "There's actually a
higher international demand for the book."
The demand for poultry is growing worldwide, and Georgia depends
on the growth of that demand. In 2004, broilers were Georgia's
top farm commodity, accounting for 40.78 percent of the state's
agriculture with a farm-gate value of just under $4.2 billion.
"Poultry meat production passed beef production a few
years ago," he said, "It's just a huge industry here.
There are so many jobs for our graduates -- good jobs. And
the industry is still growing."
When included with eggs, which ranked fifth in the state with
a $439.3-million farm value, poultry accounts for more than
half of Georgia's agriculture.
"But that's just farm-gate receipts," Pesti said. "Broilers
and eggs are both processed in Georgia, adding much more value
to the poultry industry in terms of number of jobs and impact
on the Georgia economy."
The U.S. is a major source of poultry meat and eggs on the
world market, he said.
"Since feed cost is about 70 to 80 percent of the cost
of live production, nutrition is of fundamental importance
to producing poultry meat and eggs," Pesti said.
Pesti wrote "Poultry Nutrition and Feeding" along
with four others:
- Remzi Bakalli, a University of Prishtina (Kosovo) professor
of poultry science who is also a UGA poultry science research
coordinator.
- John P. Drive, a Jackson Laboratory (Maine) postdoctoral associate.
- Anel Atencio, a UGA postdoctoral associate.
- Elaine Foster, UGA poultry science laboratory director.
The Poultry Nutrition and Feeding text covers all chickens
and turkeys. Key concepts and learning objectives are covered
at the beginning of each chapter.
"It's the only poultry text written specifically for students,
designed for learning and teaching," Pesti said. "Chapters
are organized with anchoring concepts, learning objectives,
vocabulary and study and discussion questions. Those are not
found in other poultry and nutrition books."
The book covers topics ranging from bioenergetics to basic
principles of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.
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The
better educated producers are about poultry nutrition, the more efficient
they will be and the lower the cost, said Gene Pesti, a UGA poultry
science professor.
