Inside Iowa State
May 21, 1999
ISU, ARS to jointly operate swine center
Iowa State and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have agreed to jointly operate the $9.6 million National Swine Research and Information Center.
The 20-year agreement ensures the new facility, located on campus, will be used for its original purpose -- research on pork industry issues.
"The National Swine Research and Information Center is enormously important to Iowa and all pork producing states," said President Martin Jischke. "We are extremely pleased with this agreement, and we appreciate the efforts of ARS and pork industry organizations in developing a plan for this new center."
Initial research will focus on devel-oping nutritional and microbiological approaches to reducing hog odor while also increasing feed efficiency, hog reproduction and growth.
"This new center allows Iowa State and other Midwestern universities to be major contributors to cutting edge research for the swine industry," said David Topel, dean of the College of Agriculture. "As a national facility, it can mean even greater cooperative efforts with our colleagues around this region and the United States."
Floyd Horn, ARS administrator, said research done at the center will build an understanding of swine production to help protect the soil, water and air.
The federal government built the center to bring together research on pork industry problems, such as odor, water quality impact, animal health and worker safety. Mike Wehler, past president of the National Pork Producers Association, said centralizing research and a variety of databases will benefit the industry.
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