The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is pleased to announce appointment of William R. Brown III to the position of poultry extension agent for Delaware Cooperative Extension effective Feb. 1, 2009. Brown joins a team of UD scientists and educators committed to serving agriculture in Delaware and Delmarva. Brown will operate from the Elbert N. and Ann V. Carvel Center in Georgetown.
Bill Brown, state poultry Extension agent, University of Delaware Cooperative Extension
In his position as the Poultry Extension Agent, Brown will serve a large constituency of individual poultry growers and businesses who have a stake in what is the largest economic driver in agriculture in the region.
Mark Isaacs, director of the Carvel Research and Education Center is pleased to have Brown as a member of UD’s team of experts located at Carvel. “Bill brings with him a tremendous background of the poultry industry here on Delmarva through his years working with Perdue Farms, as well as his personal experiences with poultry management by running his own farm. His experience, coupled with his excellent interpersonal and communication skills, will be a major asset to our poultry producers and the industry,” Isaacs said.
Brown has spent most of his lifetime dedicated to the poultry industry. After graduating the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science with an Ag Business concentration, Brown was employed for 21 years with Perdue Farms where he served as Flock Supervisor, Ventilation Specialist, Hatchery Manager, Poultry Housing Specialist Area Supervisor and Grow Out Manager. For the past four years Brown and his family have owned and operated a 7-house poultry farm as a contract grower.
“As a self-employed grower, I can relate to the challenges of the Delmarva poultry industry, because I have lived them,” Brown said.
With a working knowledge of the industry on so many levels, Brown is eager to focus on those challenges in what he considers to be key areas for the poultry industry and the Delmarva community that relies upon it: Assisting with the navigation of various regulations –proposed and pending, controlling energy costs, continuing to practice diligence in bio-security and increasing public awareness and work on the perceptions the community at large has about the poultry industry.
“I am very tied to ag,” Brown said. “I am eager to let the people know what the industry has done to contribute to the general welfare of the people of the Delmarva region.” Brown hopes to foster that awareness with ag-related youth education groups such as FFA and 4-H.
Brown resides in Hurlock Md. with his wife MaryLou, daughter Ashley, and son Jacob.
Brown can be reached at the Carvel Research Education Center at 302-856-2585 ext 557 or by e-mail: brown@udel.edu
