By Sharon Dowdy
University of
Georgia
University of Georgia poultry scientist Jeanna Wilson was among the six UGA faculty members honored Tuesday, Oct. 7 in Athens, Ga., during the annual D.W. Brooks Lecture and Faculty Awards for Excellence ceremony.
Presented by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the Brooks awards are in honor and memory of Gold Kist Inc. founder D.W. Brooks. A CAES alumnus, Brooks advised seven U.S. presidents on agriculture and trade issues. Although he died in 1999, his promotion of agriculture lives on through the Brooks awards.
Wilson received the D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Extension award. Other 2008 honorees include Joseph McHugh, teaching; Michael Strand, research; Kathy Baldwin, public service extension; Tim Williams, global programs; and Clifton Baile, distinguished professor.
Wilson has a national and international reputation in broiler breeder management. Her work on improving breeder fertility alone is estimated to save Georgia poultry breeders more than $6 million annually.
Since joining the UGA poultry science faculty in 1988, Wilson has focused her extension programs on solving current industry problems in hatchery and breeder management. She is considered an international authority on male broiler breeder fertility.
Wilson works to improve flock productivity, fertility and hatchability through field studies and applied research on feed restriction programs, hen nesting preferences, pattern of egg production, rooster mating activity, semen quality, embryo viability and egg contamination. Today’s breeder houses are designed based on her recommendations, such as nest, drinker and feeder installation and slat configuration, separate male feeders and male selection pens.
In addition to her research, Wilson organizes the annual Georgia Poultry Conference, the Deep South Poultry Conference and an annual two-day hatchery breeder school to introduce new techniques for better breeder flock and incubation management. She is also an active supporter of youth programs through her work with 4-H and FFA poultry judging programs.
Author or coauthor of more than 85 extension and trade journal publications and 60 refereed journal articles, Wilson has presented her work at nearly every major U.S. broiler company as well as many in Columbia, Mexico, New Zealand, Taiwan, France, Spain and Canada.
Her honors include receiving the 2005 Poultry Science Association Award for Excellence in Extension, the highest national award an extension poultry scientist can receive, and the Walter B. Hill Award for distinguished achievement in public service and outreach at the UGA.
(Sharon Dowdy is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.)
