AUBURN UNIVERSITY RURAL PARTNERSHIP INSTITUTE

Mission Statement

To bolster Alabama rural communities through technological and innovative advancements in the two most important ag industries in the state – poultry and forestry. We aim to elevate industry standards, increase productivity, and improve work environment in these two industries. Our goal is that this project will create additional economic opportunities in rural Alabama thereby contributing to the building of communities that are resilient and prosperous.

About AURPI

The overall goal of this project is to develop and implement new technologies that will  enhance the economic prosperity of rural Alabama, especially technologies applicable to the  production and processing sectors of the poultry industry and the forestry industry. To achieve  this overall goal, we propose to focus on the following areas:


1. Develop technology solutions and market intelligence that will help producers and  processors of agricultural and forest products improve their competitiveness and  sustainability
2. Promote technologies that will advance the poultry and forest products industries
3. Predict, and protect against, cyber-physical vulnerabilities in the agricultural and forest  products sectors
4. Find opportunities to better manage water and wastewater; better manage and upcycle the  waste streams emanating from poultry and forest product processing facilities for beneficial  use
5. Facilitate the development of new case studies that provide a vision for new opportunities in  agriculture and forest products industries in Alabama and the rural South

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Can Technology Revolutionize the Poultry and Forestry Industries in Rural Alabama?

The integration of technological innovation is becoming increasingly vital in modern agriculture and forestry sectors, addressing challenges like rising costs, labor shortages, and the growing consumer demand for transparency and sustainability. In rural Alabama, the adoption of new technologies presents opportunities for business growth and employment, particularly with initiatives led by Auburn University's Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems (ICAMS). By leveraging ICAMS' successful approach and collaborating across various university departments and research centers, the goal is to develop and implement technology solutions tailored to the poultry and forestry industries, benefiting not only economic advancements but also underserved communities, particularly in high-poverty regions like the Black Belt. The proposed use of sensors, automation, data analytics, and robotics in Agriculture 4.0 holds significant promise for enhancing productivity, efficiency, safety, and environmental friendliness. However, challenges such as cybersecurity, data integrity, and limited internet access in rural areas must be addressed to ensure the successful adoption of these technologies, a need underscored by the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of digitalization and automation in rural America.

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How can we do this?

• Facilitating stakeholder focus groups to understand challenges

• Performing a technology marketplace assessment to evaluate existing technologies and identify gaps

• Implementing findings from market intelligence to address challenges and prioritize issues

• Developing technologies to fill gaps identified in the market assessment

• Partnering with organizations to implement technologies, recording ROI and challenges

• Generating guides to help other organizations considering adoption of the technology

•Conducting vulnerability assessments for both producers and processors

• Evaluating vulnerabilities introduced by technologies outlined in focus areas 1 and 2

•Improving wastewater treatment performance through biological treatments

• Developing treatment systems for safe re-use of processing wastewater for irrigation

• Mitigating odor and pathogens from poultry wastewater and developing treatment methods for poultry DAF solids

•Evaluating the economic impacts of technologies used in poultry processing and forest product manufacturing

• Identifying new areas for economic development through case studies in key agricultural sectors

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