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A Delmarva broiler industry timeline 1920s 1923: Cecile Steele of Ocean View orders 50 new chickens for her flock of laying hens and receives 500 instead. She sells them 18 months later to the New York restaurant market. By 1926 she has 10,000 birds, and the broiler industry is born. 1925: UD's Cooperative Extension hires a full-time poultry specialist. 1930s Early 1930s: While commercial egg farms are still economically significant, broilers become the dominant poultry bird in the Delmarva region. 1936: Sussex County becomes the leading broiler-producing county in the nation, thanks in large part to UD Cooperative Extension specialists. Delmarva produces 66 percent of all the nation's broilers. 1940s The UD Experiment Substation conducts tests on sulfa drugs to treat a parasitic disease that is devastating the poultry industry. Based on this research, the industry adopts the use of sulfa drugs, thus saving millions of dollars in poultry loss. 1942: UD Substation's first broiler house, a 10-room structure dedicated to poultry research, is completed. 1948: The UD Substation in Georgetown is selected as the rearing site for the National Chicken-of-Tomorrow Contest, drawing 40 entries of 400 chicks from 26 states. The contest is a nationwide effort to improve poultry production and quality. 1950s The poultry industry becomes the most profitable agricultural enterprise in the state. Cooperative Extension develops a close working relationship with poultry growers, conducting research and education demonstrations to teach growers new methods for mass production of poultry. The Extension poultry specialist and marketing specialist play a major role in forming the Delmarva Poultry Industry (DPI) Association, thus establishing a permanent link between UD and the industry. DPI develops out of a chicken festival. By the second annual celebration, the “largest known fry pan in the world” makes its first appearance at the Delmarva Chicken Festival. The 650-pound pan has a diameter of 10 feet to ensure a steady supply of fried chicken for hungry festival attendees. 1952: The UD Poultry Diagnostic Center opens in Georgetown to provide diagnostic services to Delmarva poultry producers. Industry integration takes hold for more efficient production and less risk. As the broiler industry increases, feed dealers and manufacturers depend less on independent growers and more on commercial poultry companies. To reduce their risk, feed manufacturers integrated vertically with hatcheries and processors, revolutionizing how poultry was grown. 1960s A vaccine for infectious bursal disease is created by UD researchers, creating an estimated savings of $40 million annually for the poultry industry. The Substation begins the “equipment revolution” by conducting research on various mechanical feeders, which will soon replace the conventional trough and tubs. 1970s Research begins on surface and groundwater quality issues related to poultry production. This research leads to improved crop management practices that reduce groundwater contamination from poultry manure and herbicides. A vaccine is developed to control Marek's disease and undergoes extensive field tests at UD Substation. This work leads to commercial use of the vaccine, resulting in increased production efficiency and grower profits. Research at the Substation leads to advances in production efficiency. The time needed from broiler hatch to market, which once took 16 weeks, now takes 7 weeks. The weight at time of marketing has increased, and the mortality rate cut drastically. What once took 4.7 pounds of feed to produce a pound of meat, now takes 2 pounds of feed, thanks to UD poultry nutrition research. Biotechnology is initiated as a tool for poultry research, opening the way for gene-based strategies for better-bird production. The public's concern for reducing fat and cholesterol in the diet helps make chicken the most popular protein source in the United States. 1990s 1997: The Charles C. Allen Jr. Biotechnology Laboratory, one of the world's leading centers for poultry disease research, opens on the UD campus in Newark thanks to a financial partnership of the University of Delaware, government, industry and private benefactors. 1999: UD is at the vanguard of training and educating poultry growers in the use of tunnel ventilation for commercial poultry houses, which, by increasing air circulation, leads to greater profits. The UD Poultry Diagnostic Center screens more than 3,000 blood samples a month for poultry disease and sends tissue samples to Newark scientists that could lead to better vaccines. Groundbreaking research begins with the Tree Project, planting lines of trees around poultry houses to determine if the practice helps to protect soil, air and water quality. 2000s 2000: Several of UD's poultry geneticists and molecular biologists move into the Delaware Biotechnology Institute research facility in Newark. The building houses core instrumentation centers, including mass spectroscopy, DNA and protein sequencing, structural biology and bioimaging. This interdisciplinary facility quickly is a great asset to poultry genomic research. 2003: UD dedicates 6,000-square-foot Poultry Research and Demonstration House in Georgetown at the Research and Education Center (formerly the Substation). A testing ground for environmental solutions, research is under way to determine the feasibility of practices under real-world conditions in a “laboratory” equipped for air quality and enhanced litter studies. The goal is to provide poultry growers with the research-based information they need to produce the healthiest broilers at the lowest cost. 2004: Researchers at UD's Poultry Diagnostic Center in Georgetown play a vital role in protecting the Delmarva broiler industry after an outbreak of avian flu. 2006: UD dedicates the new $7.6 million Elbert N. and Ann V. Carvel Research and Education Center in Georgetown on May 1, and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources announces its new Avian Biosciences Center on June 9. |
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