AMES, Iowa — Ben Drescher has joined Iowa State University’s Department of Animal Science as coordinator of its livestock teaching and research farms.
Drescher, a native of Alden, Minnesota, earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education in 2005, with a minor in animal science, from ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Before joining Iowa State, he was a territory manager for Murphy Brown, LLC.
The animal science department has nine Ames-area teaching and research farms. Drescher will supervise daily operations of the dairy, beef, swine, horse and poultry farms that are home to nearly 6,000 animals and their farm managers. He also will provide coordination of the farms in respect to budgets, maintenance and repair, equipment needs and coordination of feed procurement.
Every year on the farms, an estimated 2,000 ISU students take classes, are involved in hands-on education or work with faculty on animal science research. About 35 agriculture and life science faculty teach courses or conduct research at the animal science farms, along with some veterinary medicine faculty.
This is a new position for overall animal science farms’ management, although some of his responsibilities previously were overseen by Dan Morrical, a professor of animal science.
Drescher said it’s an exciting time for students to be involved in the livestock, agriculture and food production industries. “I can’t wait to work with young leaders at Iowa State as they work to make a difference and look forward to feeding the world,” he said.
As a student at Iowa State, Drescher was a member of both the meat and livestock judging teams; a member of Alpha Gamma Rho, an agricultural fraternity; served as president of the Block and Bridle Club; and was the 2005 CALS Ag Man of the Year.