{"id":1083,"date":"2023-03-29T14:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-29T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/?p=1083"},"modified":"2024-08-20T14:29:48","modified_gmt":"2024-08-20T18:29:48","slug":"nutramaize-receives-650000-usda-grant-to-scale-research-on-orange-corn-that-improves-poultry-health-and-egg-yolk-pigmentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/Q1\/nutramaize-receives-650000-usda-grant-to-scale-research-on-orange-corn-that-improves-poultry-health-and-egg-yolk-pigmentation","title":{"rendered":"NutraMaize receives $650,000 USDA grant to scale research on orange corn that improves poultry health and egg yolk pigmentation"},"content":{"rendered":"

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. —<\/p> \n

NutraMaize<\/a>, an agriculture company whose nutritionally enhanced orange corn is currently marketed through a line of premium milled products under the brand\u00a0Professor Torbert\u2019s Orange Corn<\/a>, has received a two-year, $650,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to demonstrate the health and pigmentation benefits of feeding orange corn to poultry on a commercial scale.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

NutraMaize CEO Evan Rocheford said a previous Phase I SBIR grant from the USDA funded proof-of-concept studies that showed NutraMaize Orange Corn improves outcomes in poultry health and egg yolk pigmentation. The results were published in the May 2021 issue<\/a> and July 2021 issue<\/a> of the peer-reviewed journal Poultry Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur previous research shows that when used in poultry feed, NutraMaize Orange Corn has the potential to improve animal welfare, consumer well-being and producer profitability,\u201d Rocheford said. \u201cWe\u2019ve shown that it can reduce the incidence and severity of footpad dermatitis, a common health problem for poultry, and significantly enhance the depth of color and health-benefiting antioxidant carotenoid content in egg yolks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of the Phase II project, titled \u201cNutritionally Enhanced Orange Corn: A Natural Domestic Source of Antioxidant Carotenoids for Improved Poultry and Consumer Well-Being,\u201d is to demonstrate that the corn can deliver the health benefits of carotenoids to poultry and consumers on a commercial scale. Carotenoids are natural antioxidant pigments that give many fruits and vegetables, such as carrots, their orange color and health-benefiting reputations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn addition to improving poultry health, the carotenoids found in NutraMaize Orange Corn have a number of well-documented health benefits for humans, such as significantly reducing the risk of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans,\u201d Rocheford said. \u201cThis means that orange corn has the potential to improve animal welfare and reduce disease-related losses for producers while simultaneously improving consumer well-being by enhancing the nutritional quality of one of America\u2019s most important protein sources \u2013 eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Evan Rocheford, at left, and his father, Torbert Rocheford, the Patterson Endowed Chair and a professor of agronomy in Purdue University\u2019s College of Agriculture, founded the company NutraMaize to bring the benefits of antioxidant-rich orange corn to the United States. (GoDaddy photo\/Kelly Ngo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rocheford said the project has three primary objectives that aim to demonstrate NutraMaize Orange Corn can provide value to the poultry industry at scale:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. That it can produce a number of economically relevant health benefits for both broilers and egg layers throughout their production cycles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. That it can enhance the nutritional, visual and functional properties of both poultry meat and eggs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. That it can meet the needs of the poultry industry by being produced efficiently and affordably.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    To achieve these objectives, NutraMaize will work with Darrin Karcher<\/a>, associate professor of animal sciences in Purdue University\u2019s College of Agriculture<\/a>, and the USDA Agricultural Research Service\u2019s National Poultry Research Center<\/a> in Athens, Georgia. This team will conduct research studies at Purdue\u2019s Animal Sciences Research and Education Center<\/a> and partner with grain farmers and commercial poultry producers to conduct field studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWe are particularly interested in working with organic egg producers since they have limited options for disease management and typically spend significantly more on expensive carotenoid supplements to ensure their yolks reach the dark color expected by their customers,\u201d Rocheford said. \u201cFor organic producers especially, NutraMaize Orange Corn has the opportunity to reduce feed costs, reduce losses associated with disease and deliver a darkly colored egg yolk with enhanced levels of health-benefiting carotenoids. It\u2019s really a win-win-win for the producer, animal and consumer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rocheford said the company is looking for more producers to partner with to conduct commercial trials over the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cOur mission is to help improve the well-being of as many people and animals as possible,\u201d Rocheford said. \u201cSo, we want to talk to every poultry producer, feed mill, grain handler, farmer and seed company who sees the potential value NutraMaize Orange Corn can provide at scale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To learn more about NutraMaize or to reach out to the company, visit NutraMaize.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    NutraMaize was co-founded by Evan and his father, Torbert Rocheford<\/a>, the Patterson Endowed Chair and a professor of agronomy in Purdue\u2019s College of Agriculture. More than 20 years ago, Torbert Rocheford started naturally selecting varieties of orange corn to help alleviate malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa as part of an international humanitarian effort called HarvestPlus<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Orange corn is licensed to NutraMaize through the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization<\/a>. NutraMaize also received guidance from the Purdue Foundry<\/a>, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. Both are managed by the Purdue Research Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    About NutraMaize<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    NutraMaize<\/a> is a company transforming the United States\u2019 largest staple crop \u2013 corn \u2013 into a platform for delivering better nutrition on a population-wide scale. NutraMaize\u2019s innovation is a unique variety of naturally selected orange corn. The vibrant orange color comes from significantly higher levels of carotenoids, the same kind of natural antioxidant pigments that give carrots their color and well-known health benefits. Since its founding, NutraMaize has secured over $2 million in SBIR and STTR grants from the National Science Foundation<\/a> and USDA<\/a> to bring the benefits of its orange corn to the American public. The company\u2019s antioxidant-rich orange corn is currently available to Americans through its line of premium milled products marketed under the brand Professor Torbert\u2019s Orange Corn<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    About Purdue Research Foundation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Purdue Research Foundation<\/a>\u00a0is a nonprofit corporation governed by 16 individuals who serve on a board of directors. The PRF Board of Directors meets quarterly to manage the business and affairs of the corporation, to prescribe and enforce policies, and to guide the corporation in achieving its objectives. Purdue Research Foundation supports Purdue University\u2019s land-grant mission by helping the university improve the world through its technologies and graduates. Established in 1930, PRF is a private, nonprofit foundation that helps patent and commercialize Purdue technologies and builds places to encourage innovation, invention, investment, commercialization and entrepreneurship. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at\u00a0otcip@prf.org<\/a>. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at\u00a0foundry@prf.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \n
    \n

    \n Writer\/Media contact:<\/strong>\u00a0Steve Martin,\u00a0sgmartin@prf.org<\/a>
    Source:<\/strong>\u00a0Evan Rocheford,\u00a0    evan@nutramaize.com<\/a> <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — NutraMaize, an agriculture company whose nutritionally enhanced orange corn is currently marketed through a line of premium milled products under the brand\u00a0Professor Torbert\u2019s Orange Corn, has received a two-year, $650,000 Phase II Small Business Innovation Research<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,316,7],"tags":[],"department":[6,24],"source":[35],"purdue_today_topic":[72,66],"coauthors":[44],"class_list":["post-1083","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","category-prf","category-research-excellence","department-agriculture","department-research-foundation","source-purdue-research-foundation","purdue_today_topic-general","purdue_today_topic-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1083"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1086,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1083\/revisions\/1086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"department","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/department?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/source?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"purdue_today_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/purdue_today_topic?post=1083"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}