Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotional Council (MTRPC)

Stimulating, increasing, and improving the marketing of the turkeys through promotional avenues: direct advertising in newspapers and magazines and on radio and television; preparation and distribution of press releases; promoting cooperation of organizations that assist in developing new markets and reducing costs of marketing turkeys; participating in promotional events featuring turkeys and Turkey products; planning, organizing, and promoting contests that provide publicity for food; and preparation and distribution of leaflets, booklets, films, and other advertising materials that relate to uses of Turkey, including recipes which use turkeys and Turkey products.

Research on production, distribution, and marketing of turkeys by surveys, examinations, tests, studies, and experiments designed to develop new Turkey products; increase consumer acceptance of turkeys; expand markets for turkeys and new Turkey products; improve conditions that adversely affect production, distribution, and marketing of turkeys; and meet the needs of the Turkey industries current and future needs. A total of three projects were performed at the university of Minnesota and south dakota state university related to: 1) potentiating host gut machinery to reduce salmonella in turkeys using vaccination and probiotics; 2) age suseptibility and lateral transmission of Turkey arthritis reovirus; and 3) using genomics plus simple laboratory screens to establish a framework for identifying and responding to the changing landscape of salmonella in Turkey production. The cost of these three Research projects totaled 67,806. In addition,research related services were provided by the Minnesota Turkey growers association totaling 9681.