On September 27^th, 2021 the Iowa State University Dairy Judging Team comprised of Amanda Engelken, Earlville, IA; Anna Hanson, Decorah, IA; Brianna McBride, Severance, CO; and Jessica Schmitt, Fort Atkinson, IA; graced the revered colored shavings at the 100^th Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest held at World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI.  Team members managed to mark strong cards and talk the cattle classes well in the reasons room which allowed for a strong showing at the national contest. 

The Iowa Pork Industry Center and the ISU Department of Animal Science are excited to announce the 2022 ISU Swine Industry Experience. The goal of the ISU Swine Industry Experience is to develop undergraduate student exposure, knowledge, skills, and professional relationships in the swine industry in order to help meet the critical need for trained professionals in the swine industry. This experience will include hands-on farm learning, classroom lectures, and industry networking opportunities. Application deadline is Nov. 1, 2021.

See more info and the application requirements here.

This fall, the Association of Graduate Animal Scientists (AGAS) is selling raffle tickets for two halves of a hog as a fundraiser to directly benefit the graduate students in the Department of Animal Science. The funds raised from these efforts will be utilized for the club to help support paying graduation fees for our graduating students, as well as travel scholarships and supporting general club operations to aid in fostering a sense of camaraderie within the graduate student group. The hog was raised at the Iowa State Swine Teaching Farm and will be harvested and processed at the Iowa State Meat Laboratory. Each winner will take home approximately 70-75lbs of pork. Graduate students will be selling tickets until October 25^th, and the winners of the raffle will be notified on October 26^th.

The 2021 ISU consignment included a total of 11 horses, all raised at the Iowa State University Horse Farm. Five students enrolled in AnS 317B spent the summer and the first couple of weeks of this fall semester preparing the horses for this sale. Students involved include Alexis Gosnell, Javier Quinones, Talena Balasch, Isabella Mullen and Paola Rodriguez.

A total of 36 yearlings changed hands at the sale for revenues of $402,350, up three percent from the previous year's edition when 48 yearlings brought $389,400. The average sale price rose 34 percent to $11,176 from $8,285, and the buyback rate finished at 10 percent compared with 28 percent in 2020.

On September 19^th, 2021 the Iowa State University Dairy Judging Team competed in the 27^th Annual Vernon County Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest held on the Vernon County Fairgrounds in Viroqua, WI. 

Fourteen teams spanning from coast to coast competed in the contest and Iowa State displayed a strong showing with the following team members: Amanda Engelken, Earlville, IA; Anna Hanson, Decorah, IA; Brianna McBride, Severance, CO; and Jessica Schmitt, Fort Atkinson, IA. 

The Iowa State University Meat Laboratory hosted the 43^rd edition of the Iowa State University Meat Evaluation Contest on Saturday, September 28, 2021.  Nearly 60 students representing teams from Angelo State University – San Angelo; Kansas State University – Manhattan; Oklahoma State University – Stillwater; Texas A&M University – College Station; South Dakota State University – Brookings; The Ohio State University – Columbus; University of Illinois – Champaign/Urbana; University of Wyoming – Laramie; West Texas A&M University – Canyon; and Iowa State University - Ames competed in the event.

Jason Ross, Director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center and Lloyd Anderson Endowed Professor in Physiology will serve a four-year appointment as the associate chair for industry engagement in the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State University.

“Dr. Jason Ross has provided so much industry engagement for the Iowa swine industry through his leadership as the Director of the Iowa Pork Industry Center.  We are very proud to bring him on board to help our department provide industry engagement to all stakeholders involved in animal agriculture,” said Dr. Dan Thomson, professor and chair of the Department of Animal Science.

Three animal science students completed a dairy feed efficiency genetics internship this summer at Iowa State University. This internship was completed under the guidance of James Koltes, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science specializing in dairy genetics. Students had the opportunity to work in both a research laboratory setting and gain hands-on experience at the Iowa State University dairy farm.

The Iowa State University Sheep Teaching Farm recently sold several Hampshire rams through two different National Sheep Improvement Program sales events. The National Sheep Improvement Program (NSIP), launched at Iowa State University in the 1980’s, provides important genetic information to producers in the form of estimated breeding values (EBVs) for a multitude of traits. Sheep producers use EBVs to make educated breeding decisions that help create a more consistent product and more profitable industry.