Richard Gates has been named director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University. Gates, currently a professor of agricultural and biological engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, will start his new duties with the center on Jan. 1.
Considerations and innovations in transporting poultry and hogs and the challenges and opportunities in managing beef cattle health and well-being will be among the topics covered Aug. 3 during the Center for Food Animal Wellbeing’s seventh annual symposium on current issues and advances in food animal well-being. The center is a unit of the U …Continue reading “Xin to present at U of A Center for Food Animal Wellbeing Symposium”
Hongwei Xin has been named the new assistant dean for research in CALS. Xin, a Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor who holds the Iowa Egg Council Endowed Professorship in the agricultural and biosystems engineering and animal science departments, Xin was named to the newly created position effective April 1. He will focus on the promotion …Continue reading “Agricultural engineering and animal science professor named CALS Assistant Dean for Research”
The new report outlines Iowa State research led by Hongwei Xin and colleagues, who developed adaptations for cage-free egg production systems that improve indoor-air quality and allow more farmers to respond to consumer demand by adapting cage-free systems.
Researchers are using remote sensing technologies to increase the health and efficiency of livestock production. One of the studies involved tracking chickens to get a sense of the basics for potential cage-free production. How many feeders to provide a cage- free flock is one of the many production questions that need answering, says Hongwei Xin, director of …Continue reading “Monitoring animal health”
By Dr. Hongwei Xin Special to Poultry Times AMES, Iowa — The number of food service retailers, grocers, chain restaurants and tourism companies that have pledged to source only cage-free eggs by year 2025 translates to more than 160 million laying hens needed to meet the demand. This quantity exceeds half of the current U.S. …Continue reading “Xin: Opportunities and challenges of going cage-free”
Hongwei Xin, director of the Egg Industry Center, says the layer population here has rebounded, “As of today, we have about 48 million laying hens and we lost about 25 million during the AI outbreak. So, at the high point, our state had about 59 million and so we’re about 10 to 11 million birds …Continue reading “Xin: Lowest egg prices in a decade”
Hongwei Xin, director of the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University, said the state is making good progress in recovering from bird flu. Iowa had 46.5 million egg-laying hens as of mid-March compared with 58.3 million before the outbreak. Producers are adding about 3 million birds each month, but that pace is expected to slow …Continue reading “Xin: Egg prices forecast to fall as industry recovers from bird flu”
Six years of Iowa State University testing show a dramatic decrease in the number of environmental samples taken from egg facilities that test positive for the Salmonella enteritidis bacterium causing human food poisoning. “The test data also show that the likelihood of a positive environmental test translating into contaminated eggs is extremely low,” said Hongwei Xin, …Continue reading “ISU test results provide six-year snapshot of egg safety”
The move to cage-free isn’t cheap. Egg producers spend $30 to $60 per chicken to make the switch from conventional cages to a cage-free, or “aviary,” system, according to the Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University. Most large operations house a million or more birds, so the costs can add up quickly to reach upwards …Continue reading “Xin: Egg industry sprinting to keep up with cage-free demand”
The Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences announced its faculty and staff award winners for 2015. The Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions Award was awarded to the Egg Industry Center. Staff members include Hongwei Xin, director and C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in both the department of agricultural and biosystems engineering and animal …Continue reading “CALS outstanding faculty and staff awards announced”
It’s not entirely clear how the virus transferred from wild birds, which are carriers of the H5N2 virus, to poultry packed in enclosed facilities. Conventional wisdom says the virus is transferred through physical contact such as bird droppings. But Hongwei Xin, director of the Egg Industry Center and professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at …Continue reading “Rising egg prices bedevil restaurants, grocers and consumers”
Egg Farmers of Canada has committed $500,000 for avian influenza research to be awarded to and administered by the Egg Industry Center (EIC) at Iowa State University. Egg Farmers of Canada is the national not-for-profit organization that represents Canada’s more than 1,000 egg farms. Given the significant impact that highly pathogenic avian influenza is having …Continue reading “Canadian gift will help fund avian influenza research”
Fighting flu. Fearing consequences. Avian flu sending disease specialists, market managers, law enforcement and political leaders scrambling. Insight from three leaders in the fight on this edition of Iowa Press.
