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See
related story here at www.usmsfp.org that
ran in March when the Kentucky Legislature
considered budgeting this proposal:
http://www.usmsfp.org/news/headlinenews/03-17-2005-kentucky.htm
Sygen's plans for
shrimp project at Western Kentucky University
proceed
Kelly
Richardson
College Heights Herald - News
Issue: 9/15/05
Shrimp dinners may come from the farms of
Kentucky after a new lab opens near the Unversity
Farm.
Western is leasing land near the farm to
Sygen, a company that uses genetic technology
to breed animals, for a nucleus breeding
center for shrimp. The center could possibly
help farmers in the shrimp business keep
their jobs and create new ones.
The facility is expected to be completed
in the spring of next year, said Jon Feitz,
who works in the aquaculture division of
Sygen. The center should cost about $12 million
to build and operate for about five years,
Feitz said.
The state has put in $1.7 million for construction
of the building and $1.1 million has been
approved this year for operating costs, said
Robbin Taylor, assistant to the president
for governmental relations. She said Western
would like the state to continue to provide
$1.1 million for the center's operating costs
in the future. Sygen is also funding the center, but that
amount hasn't been determined yet, Feitz
said.
The center will find genetic markers in
shrimp that cause certain desired characteristics,
such as growth rate and ability to survive.
They will find which shrimp have these genes
and sell them to farmers for breeding, Ferrell
said. A goal for the Bowling Green center
is to boost the United States economy by
developing
the shrimp market in the country, Feitz said.
"It will help build a U.S. industry
that will lessen our dependence on foreign
shrimp imports," he said.
Shrimp farming is typically done in regions
near oceans, but there are dangers of hurting
the environment, Feitz said. The process
can disrupt the life cycles of other species
and the land.
Seafood is the second-largest trade deficit,
or debt from imports, in the United States,
Feitz said. Oil is the largest trade deficit. Buying shrimp locally also has the potential
to make the product cheaper for consumers,
he said.
Sygen's headquarters is in Franklin. The
company asked counties surrounding Franklin
to show them possible sites for the center,
said Stephen Pearce, the director of biotechnology
research business development at Sygen.
"It became very, very apparent very,
very quickly that Western's site was very
good," he said.
Sygen liked the site because it wasn't near
anything that could cause disease among the
animals, and it was near roads, Pearce said. The facility will be the fourth shrimp center
for Sygen. The other three are in Mexico,
Brazil and Thailand.
Sygen also working with the University of
Kentucky, Kentucky State University and Western
to develop a model facility for farmers who
are interested in shrimp farming, Feitz said. The work Sygen is doing on shrimp originated
with pigs. Sygen was formed in 1963 by four
British pig farmers under the name Pig Improvement
Company. More than 50 percent of Sygen's work is
done with animals other than pigs now, Pearce
said.
The
new center also will benefit students along
with farmers, Biology Department Head
Richard Bowker said. Students will have the
chance to do research in the facility, which
could help them get
a job in similar research fields, he said.
Source:
news@wkuherald.com.
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