Daniel Unruh is the most recent addition to the Iowa State Department of Animal Science as an assistant professor with a focus on meat science and food safety. With his extensive knowledge, research background, and industry experience, Iowa State is excited to welcome Unruh into the department and our meat science program.

Erin Brenneman came to Iowa State University to major in animal science with the goal of working with horses in her future career; little did she know that she would work in two areas she never saw coming - pigs and people.

Brenneman found her passion for the animal industry while working in a horseback riding program near the suburbs of Chicago, where she grew up. Wanting to pursue a career to follow her passion for horses, Brenneman shared her desire to be a vet with her counselor and she suggested she look at Iowa State University. "I toured the campus and, just like everyone else, instantly fell in love."
 

On Sunday, September 17^th, 2023 the Iowa State University Dairy Judging Team competed in the 29^th Annual Vernon County Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest held on the Vernon County Fairgrounds in Viroqua, WI. Eleven teams spanning from California to Indiana competed in the contest, and Iowa State displayed a strong showing with the following team members: Torri Burch, Frewsburg, NY; Delana Erbsen, Lanark, IL; Madalyn Palmer, Waukon, IA; and Colton Silveira, Hilmar, CA. 

Register here: https://forms.gle/djQCFfdD1TTC56Ct9

Sign-ups are due 9/26.

Not even Raphael Dohmen, a current senior in Animal Science, could have predicted that his family's move to southwest Missouri would be the catalyst to starting his now first-generation farm. Raphael started with only three pigs in 7th grade and has grown it into a diversified farm with cattle, sheep, chickens, goats, and, of course, pigs.  

After graduating high school, Dohmen attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, as a member of their football, basketball, and boxing teams. He explained that he had to put his farming dreams on hold during the three years he attended to complete his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.  

The 2023 Iowa State University Intercollegiate Meat Judging Team competed in their first contest of the fall season at the recent Hormel National Barrow Show Meat Judging Contest (Austin, MN). Hosted by our friends at Hormel, the contest classes are comprised of fresh and processed pork products, and students evaluate products for defects and answer questions pertinent to selected classes.

Team members include: Jillian Anderson (Montgomery, IL); Kailey Clark (Grand Mound, IA); Bridget Fisher (Wellman, IA); Ashtyn Jolly (Lancaster, KS); Anna Nafziger (Wellman, IA); Lacey Smith (Anamosa, IA); and Keegan Zimmerly (Independence, IA). The team is coached by Jacob Manternach (ISU Extension Industry Specialist); and Kayle Eivins (Meat Science Graduate Student).

Click here for more details on the 2024 Swine Industry Experience Program.

The Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University welcomes David Rosero as an assistant professor. With his extensive background in the swine industry, David comes to the department ready to make valuable contributions for students and stakeholders. Rosero’s research will focus on swine nutrition and smart farming, with special emphasis on developing technologies to improve sow survivability and longevity. He will also be teaching ANS 425: Swine Systems Management.

“I feel honored and humbled to join a great institution and the outstanding faculty at the Department of Animal Science. I am very much looking forward to collaborating with fellow researchers, students, and industry partners to drive much needed change and innovation in the swine industry,” said Rosero.

The 2023 ISU consignment included a total of 26 horses, 10 owned and raised by the Iowa State University Horse Farm and 16 additional client-owned yearlings. Nine students enrolled in AnS 317B spent the summer and the first week of this fall semester preparing the horses for this sale. The fall 2023 317B students are Grace Archambeau, Kailey Bahmann, Katherine Cubbage, Nicole DeYoung, Kaleena Dudek, Elizabeth Gideon, Sarah Hart, Hailey Kube, Teresa Petsche and undergraduate teaching assistants Lindsey Halsey and Raul Gonzalez.

A total of 76 horses were catalogued to the 2023 Iowa Thoroughbred Sale. Of those, 56 changed hands at the sale for revenues of $865,700.

It is not as common to hear of a daughter going back to take over the family farm, but that is exactly what Lillie Beringer-Crock did. Hailing from Cascade, Iowa, Lillie has been farming full-time since February of this year. She recently started a direct-to-consumer beef business and is a young voice for agriculture through her social media accounts, where she regularly shares educational content and videos of her daily tasks.

Ever since her junior year of college, Lillie knew that she eventually wanted to end up back home. As a little girl, she was always involved and spent as much time as she could outside. “My punishment for getting in trouble was that I had to stay inside,” said Lillie. She credits her grandfather for being her inspiration and mentor as she grew up and became involved on the farm.

The 2023 International Congress of Meat Science and Technology was held in Padova, Italy, August 21-25. Five hundred delegates from six continents attended. The Congress featured a pre-conference intensive workshop for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and five days of technical programming. There were eighteen keynote lectures during the Congress, nearly fifty presentations during the plenary sessions, and 434 poster presentations.

Sara Kvidera found her passion for animal science close to home. Hailing from Traer, Iowa, on a row crop and cattle farm, Sara fell in love with cattle through taking care of the orphan calves on her family’s operation. She attended Kansas State University on a track and field scholarship from 2009 until 2012 while completing her undergraduate degree in animal science.

Iowa State researchers at the SSR annual meeting in July where 13 abstracts listed below were presented from the Ross, Kerns and Keating groups. 

For the Iowa State turkey research team one of the major conferences is the annual Poultry Science Association Annual Conference.  This year, it was held in Philadelphia PA from July 10^th through the July 13^th. This conference covers all aspects of poultry and focuses on performance and production aspects of the bird.  A big talking point for turkey research at the conference surrounded Histomonas Melegridis, more commonly referred to as Blackhead. 

Mathias Peters credits his career path to his background in agriculture. Mathias grew up outside Bellevue, Iowa, on his family’s beef cattle and diversified crop farm. The full-time farming operation, 4-H and FFA involvement, and the opportunity to learn at a world class agriculture school led him to complete his bachelor’s degree in animal science at Iowa State University in 2017. 

While at Iowa State, Mathias also held leadership roles, serving as chaplain and philanthropy chair in his fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho. He was involved with Bacon Expo, Varieties, Homecoming and VEISHEA. His internships during the summers and working part-time during junior and senior semesters at the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association helped build professional experience. 

This summer the Iowa State University Sheep Teaching farm consigned Hampshire rams to the National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP) annual sales in Spencer, Iowa and an online platform. The National Sheep Improvement Program provides important genetic information to producers in the form of estimated breeding values (EBVs), which are derived from meticulously kept production records and data. Having access to EBVs allows producer to make educated breeding decisions that can work towards creating a more consistent and profitable sheep industry. The rams produced by the Sheep Teaching Farm are classified as terminal rams that are valued most for their growth and carcass characteristics.