Farm gives North Carolina State $10 million

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A farm business is giving North Carolina State University $10 million for its poultry science program.

School officials announced the gift from Prestage Farms in Clinton, N.C. on Tuesday.

The program will be renamed the Prestage Department of Poultry Science. It has 17 faculty members and about 75 undergraduate students.

Bill Prestage founded the business in 1983 and has contracts with hundreds of farmers in seven states to produce about 1.25 billion pounds of turkey and pork annually.

John Prestage says his family decided to give the money to his alma mater to help combat the reduction in poultry science programs around the country.

Chancellor Randy Woodson has made boosting the university's endowment by several hundred million dollars a goal to help offset cuts in funding from the state.