AMES, Iowa – Kenneth Stalder, professor of animal science, is the recipient of the 2022 Dean Lee R. Kolmer Award for Excellence in Applied Research from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Stalder is nationally and internationally recognized for his ability to apply research to create teaching and learning programs for swine producers and employees. These resources communicate information about production efficiency, environmental sustainability and genetic improvement, and they help solve issues surrounding animal performance and sow longevity.
“Dr. Stalder has demonstrated the unique ability to identify educational needs and provide useful learning materials for all the various endpoint users involved in pork production,” said Jack Dekkers, C. F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor of animal science.
Stalder has developed many tools that assist swine producers in making decisions for their operations. One example is a spreadsheet that allows users to determine how long a female should provide service to a breeding herd in order to reach profitable status.
Another notable tool Stalder designed is a poster series explaining how to evaluate feet and leg soundness, reproductive soundness and body condition score among sows. Since being published, this poster series has reached more than 26,000 swine producers in the United States and has been used by pork producers in China, Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.
Stalder received a bachelor’s degree in animal science from Iowa State in 1987, and a master’s degree in agriculture from Western Kentucky University in 1992. He returned to Iowa State to earn a doctorate in animal breeding and genetics with a minor in immunobiology in 1995 and began working at the university in 2003.
The Kolmer Award is named for Lee Kolmer, who served as dean of the college for 14 years beginning in 1973. Kolmer and his wife Jean established the award to honor faculty or staff who have made significant contributions to improving the welfare of Iowans.