AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University Professor Curt Youngs has been named a 2026 Top Agri-Food Pioneer by the World Food Prize Foundation. He is among 40 global innovators from 30 countries selected for their transformative food systems work that is driving change in agriculture and global food security. TAP honorees will be recognized at the 2026 Borlaug Dialogue in October.
Youngs serves as a Morrill Professor, M.E. Ensminger Endowed Chair of International Animal Agriculture and associate director of Iowa State’s Center for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods livestock and animal health programs. He is widely known for laying a foundation for better use of artificial insemination in livestock to increase efficiency of milk and meat production.
The TAP Award announcement recognizes his scientific excellence, international leadership and practical impact to advance livestock systems, food security and agricultural capacity across multiple regions. It specifically references his work translating advanced reproductive and animal biosciences into real-world benefits and his publications, which represent sustained contributions to livestock reproduction, embryo technologies, biosecurity, dairy development, camelid production and sustainable livestock systems across Ethiopia, Kosovo, Peru, Algeria and Uganda.
“I am so humbled and honored to be chosen as one of 40 across the globe who are being recognized as agrifood pioneers,” Youngs said. “This is one of the highest recognitions I could receive.”
Youngs will present at two events at the 2026 World Food Prize Forum on Oct. 21. An afternoon main stage panel, Can We Change the Livestock Conversation Before Hunger Wins?, is from 2:15 to 3:00 p.m. CDT. That evening, a side event, Deploying Livestock Solutions for Nutrition, Climate and Sustainable Development, is from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. Both events are co-hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute, Iowa State and the University of California-Davis. Attendees must register in advance.
“I am especially pleased that the World Food Prize leaders are giving more emphasis this year to the great importance of livestock for feeding the world, now and into the future,” he said.
Youngs grew up in Ohio and southeast Minnesota. He earned doctoral and bachelor’s degrees in animal science from the University of Minnesota and completed postdoctoral studies at Louisiana State University. He worked as an assistant professor at the University of Idaho for three years before joining the faculty of Iowa State’s Department of Animal Science in 1989.
“My earliest career influence came when I was in elementary school and a neighboring farmer gave my older brothers and me two orphaned lambs to feed and help care for,” Youngs said. “We eventually sold them for $30, and with my share of $10 I felt like I was rich!”
“I have been blessed to have many influential mentors since that time, in college and internships,” he said. He especially credits his postdoctoral advisor, Professor Robert Godke at Louisiana State, as a long-time supporter.
Youngs has received many awards over his career. Recently, those have included induction into the Minnesota FFA Hall of Fame (2025), the Global Engagement Distinguished Career Award presented by the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (2023) and the naming of the Prof. Curtis R. Youngs ART Laboratory/Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Center by the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (2023).