EIC releases report on EPA draft emissions models

The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University has released a new report to help the U.S. egg industry understand the science behind the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed emission models.

The Egg Industry Center (EIC) assembled a group of scientists to subject the August 2021 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft laying hen facility emission models for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and dust to a series of “stress tests” to gauge how inputs would impact estimated annual emission factors at 12 different locations nationwide.

“It is gratifying to know that EPA is soliciting additional scientific input and is willing to listen to our concerns as they seek scientifically robust solutions,” said Richard S. Gates, director of the Egg Industry Center.

EIC has provided a technical summary of the report for the industry’s ease of understanding. The EIC report suggests taking a simpler approach to modeling emissions by developing emission factors from the underlying dataset EPA used to create the models.

Armed with the technical summary and the report itself, the industry can use this information to develop scientifically solid comments on EPA’s process of emission model development.

“EIC’s goal is to add value to the egg industry by providing a scientific voice on issues when necessary. The comment opportunity provided by EPA for these draft emission models offered a good example for us to do just that,” Gates said.

The egg industry scientists have submitted a manuscript with their findings to the Journal of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. When reviewed and published in the upcoming months, this will ensure their work is peer-reviewed and guarantees a level of scientific rigor for the process they used to evaluate the draft models.

EIC will convene industry experts to talk about egg industry-related air emissions and other pertinent topics related to sustainability at its annual Egg Industry Issues Forum on November 8-9, 2022.

The Egg Industry Center is located at Iowa State University and conducts and funds research throughout North America. The center has infused 14 universities with several million dollars to help provide scientific information and solutions to the egg industry.

Egg Industry Center releases updated egg cost study

The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University has released an updated study to help the U.S. egg industry with important post-production cost information.

The study helps egg farmers compare industry costs with their own operational costs of processing (washing, and weighing), putting eggs in cartons, and transporting eggs to market. Therefore, the processing, cartoning and transporting report is referred to as the PCT study.

“Using 2021 data provided by egg farmers, we estimated that for the most common egg type reported by U.S. producers (eggs processed on the farm where they are produced), PCT costs averaged about 47 cents for every dozen eggs produced,” said Maro Ibarburu, associate scientist and business analyst for the Egg Industry Center (EIC).

The updated analysis reflects a turbulent market year, with pandemic-related market disruptions and marked labor shortages yielding PCT costs roughly 20% higher than 2020. The study was updated due to interest from industry organizations.

Derreck Nassar, President and CEO of the United States Egg Marketers, Inc. helped clarify the importance of the study for the egg industry:  “The Egg Industry Center’s PCT report plays a vital role in benchmarking post-production costs of eggs for the supply chain. This ultimately primes egg farmers and stakeholders alike to be more efficient and competitive while resulting in more value for consumers.”

One challenge faced by EIC was low survey responses, so there was no estimate for eggs trucked from a farm to a processing facility. “The off-line dataset we developed had two very different clusters of prices,” Ibarburu said. “The prices were too far apart without enough data points to draw a trustable conclusion.”

Overall, the largest difference between the new analysis and past studies occurred in the processing cost versus packaging or transport costs.

“EIC is happy to provide egg farmers with relevant and timely, scientifically-based information to help them advance their operations,” Ibarburu said.

The Egg Industry Center was established at Iowa State in 2008. Its mission is to add value to the egg industry by facilitating research and learning for egg producers, processors and consumers through national and international collaboration. To find more information on the center, visit www.eggindustrycenter.org.

Ibarburu awarded for research excellence

Maro Ibarburu, associate scientist and business analyst for the Egg Industry Center, received the Professional and Scientific Research Award from the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Winning this college-level award qualified Ibarburu for the University-level awards for the same category.

On October 25, Ibarburu was honored at the Iowa State University awards ceremony for winning the university-level research excellence award for professional and scientific staff. This award recognizes Iowa State employees who have worked for five or more years at ISU and provide excellence in research.

Ibarburu’s work involves analyzing data from research projects and other informational resources to ensure the Egg Industry Center provides well-grounded scientific answers on egg industry topics. He provides meaningful market and statistical information to the industry through monthly reports that include flock and price projections. A large part of Ibarburu’s work is adapting his research as needed for the egg industry, which often includes special reports on topics like highly pathogenic avian influenza, COVID, and the cage-free transition.

Please join the Egg Industry Center in congratulating Maro on these accomplishments.

In Memoriam: Blair Van Zetten

AMES, Iowa — Blair Van Zetten, president of Oskaloosa Food Products Corporation and a founding board member of the Egg Industry Center died January 18, 2021 in Arizona.

Van Zetten took control of Oskaloosa Food Products Corporation in 1980 upon his father’s passing. His father started the company in 1938. Oskaloosa Foods, located in Oskaloosa, Iowa, is an industry leader in dried, liquid and frozen egg products and serves domestic and international markets.

During his career Van Zetten served on many industry-related boards. He was a past-chair of the American Egg Board (AEB), the United Egg Association, the Egg Industry Center (EIC) and the Iowa Egg Council. At the time of his passing he was a member of the United Egg Producer Board, treasurer of the board for the US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance, treasurer of the board for the Iowa Egg Council, AEB Board member and market development committee chair, and vice chair of the EIC Board.

“Our hearts ache with the entire industry at the loss of such a proponent for what the egg could bring to people around the world,” said Richard Gates, director of EIC. “We are grateful for the legacy that Blair left; his vision and belief that applied research on the industry’s challenging issues was the best way forward for the entire industry.”

Van Zetten was a founding board member of EIC and one of its original visionaries who worked to make the organization a reality for the egg industry. He served as EIC’s first chair from the time of the center’s creation in 2008 until 2011. During his time on the EIC Board he was actively engaged in determining research funding initiatives and educational speakers for the industry to learn from, as well as working to grow the endowment that helps the center fund research throughout North America.

Van Zetten had earned the title of Oskaloosa Citizen of The Year and was named Urner Barry’s Egg Person of the Year in 2016. He was inducted to the Iowa Poultry Association Hall of Fame in 2019. In 2020, Van Zetten was given the highest honor by the Iowa State University Alumni Association for non-graduates of Iowa State University – the Honorary Alumni Award. This award is given to those who have made significant contributions to Iowa State’s welfare, reputation, prestige and pursuit of excellence.

“I only had the privilege of knowing Blair two short years, but he already had a life-long impact on me, on what I understand about the agriculture and food industries, about how to represent with passion the sectors and things we care about, about how to listen to others, and how to engage,” said College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Endowed Dean’s Chair Daniel J. Robison.  “We are all better people having known him.”

Van Zetten served many organizations outside the egg industry. He was a past president for the Oskaloosa Chamber of Commerce, the Oskaloosa Community Development Board and the Forest Cemetery Board. He was a past chair of the TruBank Board of Directors and served as an elder in the First Presbyterian Church. Van Zetten and his wife, Wendy, of 45 years have three sons, Jason, Brandon and Travis.

Preliminary Impact of COVID-19 Report Released

AMES, Iowa — The Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University has released a new report estimating the extent to which COVID-19 is currently impacting the U.S. egg industry.

“We have so many people who are confused about how egg farmers can be losing during this pandemic,” said Maro Ibarburu, associate scientist and business analyst for the Egg Industry Center (EIC). “It was widely covered that prices for shell eggs hit record highs, but it was less known that other types of eggs (liquid) have hit record lows and can’t find a market for their product. We hope that the report explains some of the dynamics that are occurring.”

The special report titled, “Preliminary estimation of the impact of COVID-19 on egg prices and producers’ revenue,” outlines that while eggs are in demand at the grocery story, the demand for eggs used in restaurants and other hospitality venues, like hotels, has nearly come to a halt. The make up of the farms that supply each of these markets is very different and affects the ability of the industry to adjust.

The report reveals that prices for liquid egg are as low as 8 cents/lb., which is cheaper than a gallon jug of retail purified water (priced at 9.6 cents/lb. during the same timeframe). These prices mean egg farmers can’t cover the expense of feed for the hens and can’t find a home for their product that keeps coming each day. The U.S. liquid egg industry is more than $110 million below the 10-year historical April average. On the other hand, the shell egg market experienced a surge in demand that resulted in a very high, but short-lived spike in prices.

The Egg Industry Center was established at Iowa State in 2008. Its mission is to add value to the egg industry by facilitating research and learning for egg producers, processors and consumers through national and international collaboration. To find more information on the center, visit www.eggindustrycenter.org.

EIC Director Recognized by ISU and Iowa Egg Council

March 10, 2020

Iowa State University released an announcement recognizing Richard S. Gates as holder of the Iowa Egg Council Endowed Professorship.

The press release quote Gates as saying, “I am honored to hold the title of Iowa Egg Council Endowed Professor, and I pledge my commitment to our continued success in the Egg Industry Center. The Iowa Egg Council demonstrated incredible leadership and trust by creating this endowed faculty position. With their strong support, our center is able to set the most relevant research and outreach agenda possible. This partnership is key to the center’s success in focusing on how we impact the most critical issues affecting the nation’s egg industry.”

“The successes demonstrated by the Egg Industry Center would not have been possible without a leader dedicated to its priorities and vision and focused on investigating the needs and interests of egg farmers,” said Kevin Stiles, executive director of the Iowa Egg Council. “This is why the Iowa Egg Council created this endowed professorship, and why we are proud to be a part of continuing the tradition of excellence with Dr. Richard Gates.”

Media coverage of the event includes:

WATTAg – March 20

EIC Former Interim Director Awarded

January 30, 2020

AMES, Iowa — This week in Atlanta, Georgia, Susan J. Lamont’s long history of passion for feathers was recognized with USPOULTRY’s Lamplighter Award, paying tribute to her sustained and exemplary service to the poultry industry.

Lamont is a C.F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University. While she most recently served as the interim director of the Egg Industry Center, she has served as faculty at ISU since 1983.

The USPOULTRY press release highlights Lamont’s numerous awards, including the Helene Cecil Leadership Award, the Embrex-Pfizer Fundamental Science Award, the Merck Award for Achievement from the Poultry Science Association and the Midwest Poultry Consortium Outstanding Service Award. Lamont is also an elected Fellow of three professional societies, the Poultry Science Association, the International Society of Animal Genetics and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The Iowa Poultry Association nominated Lamont for the Lamplighter Award. An excerpt from her nomination best describes the industry’s deep appreciation:

Dr. Lamont is committed to the success of not only the Iowa poultry industry, but of the national and global poultry industry. Recognizing her for continually stepping up to commit time, energy and expertise for the industry would be profound. We are all fortunate to have a resource and committed industry partner like Dr. Lamont.

Poultry immunogenetics and molecular genetics are Lamont’s areas of expertise. This work focuses on explaining the molecular genetic control of complex biological traits, including resistance to the negative impacts of heat stress, disease resistance, immune response and production traits. The overall goal of her work is to illuminate these basic mechanisms of genetic regulation and identify genetic markers of value to enhance future poultry stock. Particular research projects have investigated heat stress, growth and development, DNA markers for biological fitness traits and biodiversity.

Dr. Janet Fulton, molecular biologist at Hy-Line International and a former student of Lamont’s stated, “Dr. Lamont is an excellent researcher, providing high-quality training to the next generation of scientists. Many of her former students are now in significant roles within industry.”

The Egg Industry Center is excited to join the entire industry in celebrating Dr. Lamont’s well-deserved recognition.

The Egg Industry Center works to add value to the nation’s egg industry by providing research and education for egg producers, processors and consumers through national and international collaboration. The center is committed to ensuring that the current and future needs of the egg industry can be answered through developing and promoting sound science-based information. For information about partnering with the Egg Industry Center to support research funding, or to find more information on completed and ongoing research, contact EIC.

Lamont Recognized with Prestigious Honor

December 4, 2019

Dr. Susan J. Lamont, interim director of the Egg Industry Center and Distinguished Professor in Animal Science at Iowa State University, has been recognized by the  American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for her distinguished contributions to the fields of poultry genetics and poultry immunology.

Lamont was announced as a 2019 Fellow of AAAS in the area of Agriculture, Food and Renewable Resources. The Ames Tribune captured Lamont’s feelings regarding the award, “For me, being named a AAAS Fellow is a reflection of the outstanding colleagues, staff and students with whom I have worked over the years.”

Lamont’s work focuses on chicken genetics and finding ways to help enhance their natural abilities to fight disease and stress. She joined Iowa State in 1983 as an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science and from 2001 to 2003 she served as head of the Department. Over the years Lamont has been involved in research projects totaling more than $20 million.

Scientists usually aspire to obtain the level of fellow within their individual disciplines. However, AAAS includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies and serves more than 10 million people. Therefore, AAAS recognition as a fellow is held in very high regard. Prior to this recognition, Lamont was named as a fellow of the Poultry Science Association in 2009, and the International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG) in 2016.

2019: A Year of Change

November 13, 2019

AMES, Iowa — The Egg Industry Center has experienced a variety of changes in 2019. These changes have included the addition of new faces to the EIC Advisory Board. Voting board members seated in 2019 include:

  • Dr. Daniel Robison, Endowed Dean’s Chair in College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. Dean Robison started his tenure in February 2019, and attended his first Egg Industry Issues Forum before his installation ceremony on April 24.
  • Mike Sencer, Senior Vice President at Hidden Villa Ranch. Sencer is located in California and has served the industry in many capacities at the state and national level.
  • Dr. Hongwei Xin, Dean of Ag Research at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. Starting his tenure as Dean on April 1, Xin filled a vacant at-large seat after vacating his ex-officio seat as EIC Director.

Ex-officio board seat changes included:

Jan. 2020 will bring two more changes to the EIC Advisory Board.

  • The ex-officio seat occupied by Dr. Susan Lamont will be assumed by new EIC Director, Dr. Richard Gates.
  • The voting member seat occupied by Dr. Don Beermann, Chair of the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University, will transition due to retirement. The seat will be assumed by interim department chair, Dr. John Patience, a professor of animal science who focused his research on swine nutrition. Patience will hold this seat until a new chair is appointed by the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State, a search that is well underway.

The Egg Industry Center sincerely thanks those who diligently served on the board during their terms. This includes:

  • Roger Deffner, Vice President at National Food Corporation, who served since 2013, providing experience on egg processing, marketing and the west coast egg industry.
  • Dr. Joe Colletti, Senior Associate Dean who served as interim dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at ISU, who was recently recognized for his leadership on national agri-research initiatives.
  • Dr. Don Beermann, Chair of the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University, who served since 2015, and was recently recognized with Iowa Poultry Association’s Lifetime Membership Award for his service to the poultry industry.

To see others who are serving as advisory board members, or learn more about those mentioned here, check EIC’s advisory board member profiles.