The Board of Regents, state of Iowa, approved the purchase of 223 acres of land adjacent to the Rhodes Research Farm from the Community for Agricultural Development (CAD) during its Sept. 15 to 16 meeting.

“The land was purchased to get frontage to a main road running between Des Moines and Marshalltown and to increase the amount of land that will be available for corn and soybean growth,” said Mark Honeyman, coordinator for research and demonstration farms.

Ideas for use of the land are already being planned.

“With this new addition, we will be able to run a more balanced operation between the agronomy department and beef and cattle research being done there,” said David Topel, dean of the College of Agriculture.

“[The land] also gives students more opportunities for internships,” he said.

Before the land becomes university property, the State Executive Council must first approve the purchase.

The vote is on the agenda for this fall and will be decided by the governor and the governor’s cabinet.

The money for the purchase came from proceeds for land sold at the Ankeny farm several years ago.

“The money was retained during the time of sale with the intention of buying future farmland,” Honeyman said.

Currently, farm officials are working on crossing two genetic lines of beef cattle: one selected for high amounts of retail meat and one with a high degree of “marbling” — fat within the muscle of the cattle.

The two then will be crossed for the best possible beef cattle.

The addition of land allows farmers to grow more feed for beef cattle instead of having to purchase it.

“We try to operate the farms so that they pay for themselves,” Topel said. “The additional land will help with the cash flow.”

The existing equipment and labor at the farm will now be put to better use, Honeyman said.

“Much of the land used at Iowa State today was agriculture research farmland,” Honeyman said. “Over the past 30 years, ISU has taken away about 750 acres of land from the College of Agriculture for other uses, such as the Vet-Med school, Veenker Golf Course, the cross country and intramural fields and many parking lots.

“We are now thinking in the long term about how the cattle and farms in existing locations may need to be moved in the future, and this new land allows us places to go, room to grow in the future,” he said.

The farm currently employs five full-time ISU employees but hires undergraduates to work during the summer and breaks.

For more information, call 294-4620.