Research Contributions Continue

The goal of a $10M EIC endowment fund continues to become a reality through the generous donations of egg industry partners and individuals. Donors understand the vision of building an egg industry research funding arm that is not beholden to fluctuations in government agency research budgets and remains independent of producer check-off limitations. EIC is excited to announce our latest partner, Centurion Poultry, Inc. of Lexington, Georgia who became the most recent donor to the EIC Endowment Fund. "We have wanted to do something for awhile; it turned out that now was a good time," stated Gijs Schimmel, President of Centurion. The gift of $100,000 was presented to EIC Director, Dr. Hongwei Xin by Gijs himself during a recent trip to Iowa.

The fund itself started paying direct dividends to the industry three years ago and its future continues to look bright. EIC has been able to leverage over $600,000 in research funding in areas like disease management, animal welfare and new product market development. Projects are funded based on the decisions of the EIC advisory board which establishes research priorities based on current industry needs. Some projects are completed within 18 months and others take several years. Several EIC-funded projects will conclude in 2016 allowing for the findings to be reported to the industry. EIC thanks Centurion and all past donors for helping make the EIC vision a reality, and by placing their trust in EIC to put donations to the best use for the industry.