Iowa State is the 10th-most cited college for agricultural research in the world, according to In-cites.com, a Web site that tracks scientific research.

With the U.S. Department of Agriculture leading the world in agricultural research, Iowa State ranked fourth in comparison to other colleges in the United States, including the University of California at Davis, the University of Wisconsin at Madison and Cornell University.

ISU faculty said state funding, highly qualified faculty and Iowa State’s reputation are all factors attributing to the high ranking.

“One reason is that the state of Iowa has, for many years, made a really big investment in higher education,” said Catherine Woteki, dean of the College of Agriculture.

She said the state of Iowa invested about $31 million in Iowa State for agricultural research in 2003, and the federal government invested about $40 million in the university.

Woteki said the investment enables Iowa State to hire some of the best researchers in the world.

Rameshwar Kanwar, professor and chairman of agricultural and biosystems engineering, said his department has some of the best faculty researchers in their respective industries.

He said it has world-renowned researchers in the areas of grain quality, manure management and farm safety.

Mark Westgate, professor of agronomy, said the collaboration of cross-curriculum departments is lucrative for researchers.

“Collaboration is encouraged and supported,” he said.

Max Rothschild, distinguished professor of animal science, said his department has all the necessary ingredients for successful animal science research.

As co-chairman of the Center for Integrated Animal Genomics, Rothschild said he has six patents and has published many swine research articles.

He said he and other researchers have discovered more than 10 genes.

The quality of the research is cutting edge, Westgate said.

The major focus of his research is plant physiology and production. The development of corn and soybean research, gene discovery and soil science are all very strong areas of the agronomy department, he said.

Woteki said the Seed Science Center is a unique research facility for the seed industry, as it looks for and tests diseases.

She is also doing research with food safety and risk assessment. Woteki said she is working with faculty to determine risks associated with growing or eating food.

Her research studies the process food goes through from beginning to end.

Advanced machines systems, water and environment, hog facilities and food engineering are areas the agricultural and biosystems engineering department researches.

Kanwar said it works closely with industry companies, like John Deere and Caterpillar, to provide tools needed for farmers and consumers.