Institute for Food and Agriculture
Center for the Optimization Of Poultry
The Center for the Optimization Of Poultry (COOP) meets a vital need providing educational content and pursuing research efforts that support regional, national, and international efforts in positively impacting a sustainable poultry industry.
COOP was created in 2023 as a response to the increased need of aligning high impact educational and research efforts with practical approaches and application in an ever-improving industry. Our efforts at COOP are directed by an advisory committee, expert staff, key stakeholders, and the values we hold.
- We know that the birds are the first priority for our industry.
- We know some families do not limit their food buying choices based on financial constraint, while other families must make decisions based solely on affordability of protein crucial to their diet.
- We know that poultry production hinges on our responsibility of caring for our environment and our people.
- We value doing what is right by the bird.
- We value innovative approaches to sustainable and ethical commercial poultry production.
- We value the safe, reliable, and culturally relevant food source the poultry industry provides.
- We value the role poultry products play in affordable protein options for families.
- We value the families who choose to make poultry part of their diet.
- Conduct outreach programs in concert with research endeavors to promote sustainable commercial poultry production and management practices.
- Align education and training resources with industry needs for K-12, higher education, and industry professional participants nation-wide
- Mobilize scientific experts to address national/regional applied research needs
- Promote collaborative partnerships between industry members and scientific researchers to enhance applied research efforts
- Expand access to animal well-being resources and on site deployment to ag educators, small and medium-sized farms, high school and higher education students, and the existing/future industry workforce in commercial poultry producti