MISSISSIPPI STATE -- A new poultry specialist is on the job at Mississippi State University, ready to help the poultry industry in Mississippi.

Vanessa Kretzschmar-McCluskey started work July 16 as a poultry specialist with the MSU Extension Service. She will work with growers and industry officials to support the state’s poultry industry.

“Basically I’m a troubleshooter and a problem solver,” Kretzschmar said. “I’ll try to establish contact with all of our growers and the poultry companies who work in Mississippi.”

Kretzschmar is from Cullman, Ala., and earned a bachelor’s degree in poultry science with an emphasis in biology, microbiology and food safety, and a doctorate in poultry science from Auburn University. With her doctorate, she also earned a minor in Spanish.

Before coming to MSU, she accumulated several years of professional experience at Auburn, including managing the egg research lab and recruiting students in that university’s Department of Poultry Science.

Kretzschmar said MSU is one of only six universities in the country with a dedicated poultry science department. Many others combine this field with animal and dairy sciences.

“Having a separate poultry science department indicates the level of commitment Mississippi State has to the poultry industry,” Kretzschmar said.

She and her husband, Mitchell McCluskey, live on a farm in Maben.

Contact: Dr. Vanessa Kretzschmar-McCluskey, (662) 325-3472