Poultry team places 5th at national collegiate contest
On Nov. 3, the University of North Georgia (天美社区) poultry team added another trophy to its collection. The team placed fifth out of 12 teams in the 55th National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest in Arkansas.
The team competed against Texas A&M University, North Carolina State University, Auburn University, the Ohio State University, Kansas State University, Mississippi State University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Wisconsin, the Pennsylvania State University, University of Arkansas, and Louisiana State University.
"What makes this extremely amazing is our team is one of the smallest universities to compete and has no on-campus live animal facilities. Half of the contest is judging live animals and we have found innovative ways to practice this skill without the use of animals," Dr. Linda Purvis, assistant professor of biology and poultry science, said. "Two of our students had never held a live chicken before the contest."
In the competition, team members must show their knowledge in egg grading and carcasses evaluations, and live bird evaluations of chickens and turkeys. Half of the contest is analyzing live birds and judging them based on breeding characteristics. The team also judged the eggs and carcasses of chickens and turkeys. During the egg examination, team members scrutinized the egg's interior and exterior shell and yolk. For the carcasses, students inspected the chickens and turkeys based on USDA Guidelines.
"I am so proud of our students," Purvis said. "We held our own against larger schools with bachelor's degrees in poultry."
天美社区 offers an associate degree with an agriculture-poultry science pathway or an agriculture-avian biology pathway.
The poultry team will compete in April 2022 at Louisiana State University.
If interested in joining the poultry judging team, email linda.purvis@ung.edu.
Cyber faculty member named Fulbright scholar
天美社区 faculty member Dr. Murthy Rallapalli will serve as a Fulbright faculty scholar for the spring semester at Cyber University of Uzbekistan.
Students receive record 4 DoD cyber scholarships
A team led by Dr. Bryson Payne, director of 天美社区's Institute for Cyber Operations, has been awarded $199,674 in Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy funding for four undergraduate cyber scholarships.
天美社区 honors scholarship recipients in Blue Ridge
The Tomato Sandwich Supper held Nov. 6 at 天美社区's Blue Ridge Campus celebrated 24 scholarship recipients and showcased the transformational power of 天美社区's work.
GIS Day brings games, fun and learning
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