UMD receives funding to enhance quality of pork production through improved muscle growth in pigs
The University of Maryland (UMD) received funding from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) to enhance the overall quality and efficiency of pork production through improved muscle growth in pigs. While early life nutrition seems to be especially important for how muscles grow and develop, less is known about how these benefits can be passed from mother to child during pregnancy. According to the USDA, the United States is the world s third-largest pork producer. In this $20 billion industry, increased and faster muscle growth means a healthier animal, less feed and waste to raise that animal, and ultimately a more competitive and sustainable pork industry. In partnership with the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), this work could also have future applicatio
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February 2, 2021
IARN “In 2020, we had great challenges within the industry,” recalls Sara Crawford, assistant vice president of sustainability at the National Pork Board. Crawford speaks to repsonse efforts designed to conbat the primary market disruptor – the coronavirus pandemic – at Iowa Pork Congress.
The National Pork Board (NPB) quickly shifted funding, to help pork producers weather the storm, known as the coronavirus pandemic, says Crawford.
“When COVID-19 hit, the National Pork Board’s Board of Directors determined to shift funding, so we could help support the COVID-19 pandemic, especially depopulation and disposal, and looking at research methods and how could we help our state associations,” Crawford says.