Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

A newsletter for faculty, staff and students

July-August 2004 • Vol. 30, No. 4

27 attend Poultry Science Youth Conference

Twenty-seven high school students from around the state experienced college life first-hand at the University of Arkansas while attending the eighth annual Poultry Science Youth Conference sponsored by the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science July 13-16. This was the largest number the conference has had in attendance in it's eight years of existence.

Dr. H.L. Goodwin, far left, works with students at Harps Food Store in Fayetteville as they do a store assessment in order to complete a product development project during the Poultry Science Youth Conference held at the University of Arkansas.

The conference is designed to foster interest in the poultry industry, the University of Arkansas and the UA poultry science department through hands-on experiences, tours and industry presentations. This conference is also open to all agricultural educators who would like a more in-depth view of the poultry science department at the U of A.

During the conference, participants were given a scenario and a target market and asked to develop a new product using a poultry product as one of the ingredients. The product had to be packaged, priced, cooked, marketed and then presented to the whole group. During break-out sessions on the UA Fayetteville campus, students played the roles of marketer, product manager or researcher.

Recreational activities during the week included a cookout at Devil's Den State Park, dinners at Cool Water Village in Fayetteville and Jose's on Dickson Street, and putt-putt golf and go-cart riding at Lokomotion Family Fun Park. On the final day of the conference, student groups each gave their final product presentations during a closing ceremony in the Leland Tollett Auditorium in the Poultry Science Building. Parents and faculty members attended and viewed the presentations.

Twenty-seven students from around Arkansas attended the Poultry Science Youth Conference at the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science on the University of Arkansas campus. Here the youth are shown in front of the poultry science building.

Sponsors of the conference were the Farm Bureau, Harold E. Ford Foundation and the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science.

Next year's conference will again be held in July and information can be obtained by e-mailing Gary Davis, poultry science undergraduate recruiter, at gddavis@uark.edu. All students completing the 10th and 11th grades are invited to attend. Space is limited.