Out with the old and in with the new, they say.

In the case of the animal science department, members agree with the statement. What are they eyeballing? The swine and poultry teaching farms.

Combined, 1,600 to 1,700 students visit these farms each semester, from classes such as animal science 101 to senior-level specialized swine classes. The buildings date back to the 1950s.

The plans to build new poultry buildings, a swine building and a department-wide feed mill were approved by the university earlier last week.

Now comes the start of a campaign fund.

The university has other projects that take top priority, including the renovations to Bessey Hall we see on campus now, so the funding for the project will be raised completely through donations.

All three projects together are estimated to cost between $25 and $30 million.

Iowa State isn’t the only university that has to look into updating its facilities. While some universities have attempted to cut costs by becoming “specialists” in one or two breeds, most are still trying to get by.

Donald Beermann, chairman of the animal science department, said it’s a problem across the board.

“It’s a challenge for universities to find the funds to repair their farms to today’s industry level,” Beermann said.

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has its own donors, which consist of a pool of ISU alumni, local businesses and companies, Beermann said.

Before the projects can break ground, Beermann said the goal is to have 75 to 90 percent of the funds secured. After seeing the need and ability to teach potential future employees the department can expect to see companies that are national in scope help fund the improvements.

With Iowa State’s 95 to 98 percent job placement rate, those companies will hire ISU graduates, and the farms will help make sure future employees get the experiences they need.

As of right now, that’s the missing piece of the puzzle, Beermann said.

“Because of the age of the existing facilities, they are in a state of physical condition that doesn’t meet our needs, our level of technology and aren’t equipped to use for research,” Beermann said. “We are in need of a solution that can teach students about the current industry and prepare them for a career after college.” 

Iowa State’s programs at the research farms don’t only benefit current students. Several of the farms have extension programs and tour days, where other producers can tour and see the practices the farms have implemented.

The beef farm currently has the best model of a grazing system in Iowa. These professionals who tour can recognize that learning is never finished in life and the techniques that are being carried out at Iowa State can be transferred back to a typical farming operation at home. 

Brad Skaar, associate professor of animal science, takes students to the university-run farms in his animal science 101 class in the fall and spring. He said this early exposure to the facilities helps students who didn’t grow up on a farm or grew up with a few specific species be exposed to all animals in the industry, while showing and demonstrating how the animals are managed.

In addition, the teaching farms supply other classes with resources they wouldn’t be able to obtain any other way. The livestock judging teams and meat judging team utilizes the animal and the products from the animal in training for their competitions and animal science labs count on products from the livestock to be able to perform their experiments.

“It’s a huge advantage to Iowa State to be known as a multi-species Animal Science Department,” Skaar said.

Iowa State gets many out of state students from metropolitan areas as well as states like Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin where tuition is more expensive.

The animal science programs impress the potential students and they enroll immediately. For students that are looking into Veterinarian School, or going onto graduate programs, it’s important to have exposure to all species. For future students, it’s important to have the diverse breeds to maintain interest.

It also interests different companies that are interested in conducting research.

Currently, the poultry farm doesn’t meet the standards, but with updated facilities the possibilities are there. With Iowa being the number one in the nation for egg production, it makes sense for poultry research to be conducted here.

The updated facilities could increase career interest and students could decide to specialize in the field of poultry, building the poultry program here at Iowa State. 

Another area of potential career interest is concerning the feed mill that was approved. Not only would all the feed used on research farms be ground on site, but it would help prepare students for a career in feed manufacturing. Students could work and receive a minor in feed manufacturing while learning the methods used, hands-on feed rationing and other educational components. 

The approved plans will help improve the department in many ways, but Beermann doesn’t think the department will stop there. The plan for the future is to have the farms located in West Ames, where some are now near the Hansen Learning Center.

There is also talk of adding a swine nutrition center, improved beef nutrition and a new metabolism farm where all species can be researched to learn more about digestion and metabolism issues.