Ames, Iowa — As we approach Thanksgiving a turkey teaching and research facility that is the first of its kind in the US is now operating on the Iowa State University campus.
Dawn Koltes in the ISU Animal Science Department says it is a joint project with the industry to improve how they operate.
She says producers won’t have to use their own flocks to test various practices, while ISU does the testing. There’s another benefit of having a turkey lab to show off the process.
Koltes says they’ll do that by encouraging the public and groups to visit and see how things work.
She says they have some things set up to let visitors understand the growing process.
The research will cover a variety of issues that are facing the industry.
They will also look at new technologies such as air handlers, and other things that can impact the health of the turkeys.
The are classrooms where animal science students can work and study some of these issues. The facility is called the Balloun Turkey Teaching and Research Facility after the main donor, Julia Balloun. It was dedicated in May 2022 and the first set of turkey poults were recently delivered.
