DES MOINES — The barns at the State Fairgrounds have been active this week with the continuous movement of cattle being led up and down the aisles during the Iowa Beef Expo.

Iowa State has had a number of students involved with expo, which has been taking place all this week. It will continue until Sunday.

“The expo is a miniature version of the Iowa State Fair, except this only involves cattle,” said Mindy Trede, director of the Iowa Beef Expo. “This is a chance for people to see the different beef breeds show, and then watch them sell. People get to look at the technology that is out there in the world today.”

One area ISU students have been involved in is judging.

“The sponsorship of the Beef Judging Contest by Iowa State has become well established,” Trede said. “Students come from all over the country to be in it. It is one of the only judging contests that focuses only on beef.”

The judging contest, which is sponsored by Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity, 210 Gray Ave., had more than 40 high school teams and about 25 collegiate teams participate in this year’s contest, said Michael Shaw, one of five members on this year’s planning committee.

“Our house has sponsored this contest on the Sunday of the Iowa Beef Expo for a long time,” said Shaw, senior in animal science. “This contest really teaches decision-making skills to the participants and also promotes Iowa State.”

Marshall Ruble, manager of the ISU Beef Teaching Farm, said there are many Iowa State ties to the expo.

“There are a lot more students from Iowa State down here than most people think,” Ruble said. “There might be at least 200 Iowa State kids involved in some way. Plus, I’ll bet 50 percent of the people here are Iowa State alumni.”

Ruble said classes don’t always prepare students for life after college. He said the beef expo can give them a glimpse of what it is actually like.

“The people that the students meet may become long-term connections,” Ruble said. “One student I know interviewed for a job with a company that he met here. The companies that students want to work for are everywhere at the expo. This is also a great way to get internships.”

Mike Hansen, manager of the Diemer Farm in north Iowa, supplies the ISU Beef Teaching Farm with cattle.

“Young people who are involved at the expo get to see firsthand about merchandising and selling,” Hansen said. “This is real life. It doesn’t get more real than this.”

On Monday, five students from the Collegiate Beef Team got a chance to share some of their knowledge with a group of 25 fifth-graders from Atlantic. Each gave a presentation on topics including feeding and rations, cuts of meat, types of beef breeds and beef byproducts.

“It was fun to take things that we have learned over the years and give it to someone who is not in the business,” said Jason Steele, president of the Collegiate Beef Team, who coordinated the presentations. “When we could see that they were interested and were understanding, it makes feel like you able to connect.”