Iowa State has been named the second leading university in the nation for its meat and poultry program.

The November issue of Meat & Poultry magazine published its first top 10 list of universities serving the meat and poultry industry, naming Iowa State second only to Texas A&M, said Brian Meyer, program director for agriculture information services.

The magazine personnel held an informal survey asking professionals in the meat and poultry field which schools were some of the best for their programs and their ability to send well-qualified graduates into the business, Meyer said.

“The strength of any program is the people involved,” said Joseph Cordray, professor of animal science.

Iowa State’s meat and poultry program has excellent staff and faculty along with many people offering support, Cordray said. Without these people taking an active role, there wouldn’t be a program at all, he said.

The meat and poultry facilities include a highly respected, state-of-the-art meats lab covering 30,000 square feet that reproduces conditions in meat plants, Cordray said. Iowa State is also home to the only operating irradiation system on a college campus. The system uses an electron beam that destroys pathogens on meat, he said.

Iowa State has also joined forces with Kansas State University and the University of Arkansas to become a part of the Food Safety Consortium to research meat products and safety, Meyer said.

Each school has a focus – Iowa State’s is various pork products.

Iowa State also offers several undergraduate courses and a graduate program in meat and poultry science, Cordray said. There is an extension program in processed meats that offers short courses to meat industry employees, he said.

The meat and poultry program also works closely with the American Association of Meat Processors, the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the North American Pork Board, Cordray said.

“It is a significant recognition of our program,” he said. “It reinforces that what we’re doing is important and that we are heading in the right direction.”