This fall a team of Minnesota educators began offering poultry training programs that provide multiple levels of education for aspiring or current poultry professionals. Most of the courses will be provided online.

These so-called “stackable programs” will target areas of need in the poultry industries, and provide training in a format that is affordable, accessible, and adaptable. Four programs will be offered, with flexibility to take selected courses or the entire program, depending on a student’s need.

Educators at Ridgewater College in Willmar and University of Minnesota faculty in the College of Veterinary Medicine, the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences, and Extension collaborated to get the training program launched.

Available this fall are an undergraduate poultry certificate through Ridgewater College and a graduate poultry health certificate offered through the University. Three new courses—focused on microbes, food safety and biosecurity—form the core of these programs. An undergraduate minor in poultry and a master’s program in applied poultry science will launch in the fall of 2021. Visit poultrytraining.umn.edu for details.