Farms

Animal Science Farms Director Ben Drescher
Ben Drescher, Animal Science Farms Director

Welcome! We invite you to explore our Iowa State University Teaching farms.  Situated on 450 acres of land, our farms, conveniently located a couple miles south of campus, provide an experiential learning adventure like no other!  Students have the opportunity to work at the farms to assist with college expenses and to gain the invaluable experience of farm management. Cutting-edge research is being performed daily and students have the possibility to participate and acquire skills not gained in a classroom.

We take great pride in 41,000 sq ft animal arena and event center - The Jeff and Deb Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. While not a farm, this is a place where livestock competitions from around the nation take place. It also houses several classrooms and conference rooms for student and public use and acts as an ISU and community event center.

We encourage you to explore our farm links, below, and schedule a visit!

2020 National Thanksgiving Turkeys at Iowa State

  • Swine Teaching Farm facilities

    The Allen Christen Swine Teaching farm is a 90 sow farrow-to-finish operation. The primary mission of this farm is to provide for our teaching opportunities needs and showcasing all stages of modern swine production. The herd consists of purebred Berkshires and Durocs, and maintains some commercial Yorkshire-Landrace crossbreds.

     

  • Beef Teaching Farm

    The Beef Teaching Farm strives for excellence in cattle production and hands-on teaching. The herd has both spring and fall calving programs. Purebred calves are born in the spring - primarily March and April. Angus and Simmental breeds comprise the purebred herds.

  • Sweet black and white cows

    The Dairy farm is located on an approximately 30 acre footprint with 400 dairy cows and is used for teaching, research, and outreach activities.

  • Horse looking over a fence

    The Department of Animal Science at ISU proudly maintains the historic horse barns located on campus. The horse barns provide students with the opportunity to learn and work in a hands-on setting. The historic barns house two student apartments, an office, reproduction lab, equine treadmill, and classroom.

  • ISU feed mill slipform pour

    Coming soon! Iowa State University’s Kent Corporation Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex, currently under construction on university-owned land. Once completed, the complex will include feed milling and mixing equipment, grain storage bins, grain drying and handling equipment, a warehouse and an educational building with classroom, lab and meeting spaces.

  • Research farms

    The Department of Animal Science works closely with ISU Research and Demonstration Farms of McNay, Armstrong, Allee and Western Research Farms. 

  • Exterior of the Hansen learning center

    The facility is unique to Iowa State and nearly all of the Midwest, allowing animal-human interaction through teaching laboratories, outreach activities and a variety of functions for future and current students.

  • The Lauren Christian Swine Breeding Research Farm is a 200 sow farrow-to-finish operation. Research conducted at this farm revolves around genetics and reproduction research, additionally we can accommodate other studies such as animal welfare and handling, housing, and some basic nutritional studies.

  • Poultry teaching farm building

    The Robert T. Hamilton Poultry Teaching and Research Facility was built in 2019 and is located at 3840 520th Avenue, approximately 3 miles southwest of the main campus, and covers 11 acres. It is located on the teaching farm complex that also includes the beef, sheep, and swine teaching units. The unit is utilized for teaching and research activities with broilers and layers. 

  • the beef farm

    Beef nutrition research facilities are available at the Beef Nutrition Farm located approximately 5 miles northwest of the ISU campus. Facilities include a modern open-front, 60-pen feedlot, a 7-pen feedlot with an electronic feed intake management system, and a 16-pen open-front feedlot.

  • Sheep

    The mission of the Sheep Teaching Farm is to provide facilities, livestock, and instruction for undergraduate education and extension outreach programs on sheep production and flock management. 

  • Stanley L. Balloun Turkey Teaching and Research Facility

    The university’s first-ever dedicated turkey teaching and research facility provides students a living classroom to experience hands-on learning in modern production practices and state-of-the-art equipment for research that addresses current challenges and helps advance Iowa’s turkey industry, one of the largest in the United States.

  • Student with pig

    The Swine Nutrition Farm is located 4.5 miles north west of campus. It provides a diversity of research capabilities – including a 480-head nursery, two 300-head grower rooms, plus an array of individual housing for pigs from nursery age to market – along with extensive metabolism facilities and a surgery. There is also a feed mill for preparation of very precise research diets.

Farms Safety Advisory