The research and sale of three top-ranked Angus cows has brought the College of Agriculture national recognition.

The cows from Iowa State were ranked first, third and eighth in the nation by the American Angus Association, based on the amount of intramuscular fat in each cow.

The cows were sold Jan. 16 at the National Western Livestock Show in Denver.

“It’s a good thing for Iowa State. Sometimes we need some good news,” said Marshall Ruble, superintendent of the Beef Teaching Center.

Cows were bred based on the amount of intramuscular fat they had, said Mark Honeyman, professor of animal science and agricultural education and studies. Researchers monitored the amount of intramuscular fat using ultrasound technology.

“Intramuscular fat is good fat. It makes a steak juicier and more flavorful,” he said.

The technique of using an ultrasound to look inside a cow was developed in 1996 by two ISU professors — Gene Rouse, professor of animal science, and Doyle Wilson, affiliated professor of animal science, Honeyman said.

Ultrasound technology made it easier for researchers to find out how the cows developed and grew, Rouse said in a College of Agriculture press release.

“We scanned cattle every 30 days to see how the rib eyes developed and how the intramuscular fat developed,” Rouse said.

“Before this technology we could only look at the meat, not the live animal.”

After the research was completed, the cows were moved from the Rhodes Research Farm to Ames in preparation for the sale.

Ruble said before they went to the sale, he and others at the teaching farm worked on getting the three cows “ready for dinner” by calming their attitudes, washing and clipping.

Ruble said cows are more like a mustang at first, because before coming to the research farm the cows were with 400 other cows at the Rhodes farm and were not used to people.

“Each cow had a different personality and a different challenge, but you got to get inside their head,” Ruble said.

It’s important for the cows to have the right attitude because so many people will see them at the sale, he said.

Ruble said when they got to Denver, in order to be cleaned, the cows had to be fogged, misted and dried with a big hair dryer, then combed. They also had a dress rehearsal the night before, where they let the cows out to play in the ring.

“One of my goals was not just national recognition, but to fund more research and make people aware we can do some pretty excellent things at Iowa State,” Ruble said.

The first-ranked cow was sold for $12,000. Altogether, the three cows brought in $29,500. Four embryos taken from the eighth-ranked cow were sold at $1,450 each.

Honeyman said all of the money brought in from the Angus cows will go back to the research farm.