AMES, Iowa – On May 9, Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences dedicated the new Stanley L. Balloun Turkey Teaching and Research Facility, the nation’s only facility focused on turkey production at a major university, according to university officials.

“We are so excited to see this cutting-edge facility come to fruition and strengthen the innovative teaching, research and learning our faculty, staff and students do in the area of turkey science and management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences,” said Daniel J. Robison, holder of the endowed dean’s chair in the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Officials said the facility has state-of-the-art equipment for research that addresses current challenges, and helps advance Iowa’s turkey industry, one of the largest in the United States.

“This tremendous new turkey research, teaching and extension facility, with support from industry partners and private donors, will ensure we are providing the best hands-on education for students, and the infrastructure to drive new scientific discoveries across the turkey industry,” said Dan Thomson, chair of the Iowa State University Department of Animal Science.

Located south of the Iowa State University campus, the facility will offer continuing education, outreach, peer-to-peer opportunities for professionals in the industry, and observation areas where visitors can see first-hand examples of turkey production systems, and learn about turkey production.

“There will be a full-time manager, along with student workers to run the day-to-day operations and research projects,” said Andy Zehr, director of marketing and new student programs at Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

“We have many faculty that will conduct research using the turkey facility from the Department of Animal Science, the Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering, and Veterinary Diagnostics and Production Animal Medicine,” he added.

Ranked seventh in turkey production and raising approximately 12 million turkeys annually, Iowa’s turkey industry supports over 38,000 total jobs, and is responsible for more than $10 billion annually in economic activity throughout Iowa.

“The hands-on experience our students will gain from working and learning in this modern facility will prepare them to become the next generation of great employees and leaders in turkey industry and science,”  Robison said.

The facility is named in honor of Stanley L. Balloun, an international expert, pioneering researcher, and leader in the science of turkey feed who received his bachelor and doctorate degrees from Iowa State University, where he later served as a professor of animal science.

A lead gift was provided by Jim and Julie Balloun of Atlanta, Ga. Jim Balloun, the son of Stanley L. Balloun, received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Iowa State University, and is the retired chair and CEO of Acuity Brands, Inc., a lighting and building management firm headquartered in Atlanta.

“Dad and his colleagues’ research established how soybeans could be a source of protein in poultry diets,” Jim Balloun said. “Since that time, soybeans have become a major export for Iowa farmers, and annual turkey production has grown from a few hundred thousand to 10 million.

“This is a good example of the impact of Iowa State University, and we hope this facility will help advance this record,” he added.

“I think this facility represents the desire of the turkey farmer, and the drive of this industry to continue to improve and gain new knowledge, and work together to solve problems,” said Gretta Irwin, executive director of the Iowa Turkey Federation.

“Many generations of turkey farmers will engage with the students and apply the research from this facility,” she added. “We look forward to a long and active relationship with the university, students and faculty.”

Zehr said the Iowa Turkey Federation was at the forefront of this project.

“They gathered information from their members and presented it to Iowa State to make sure that the needs of their farmers and the industry were met,” he said. “Farmers’ input was crucial in the project planning to make sure that current industry standards were represented in this research facility.

“Turkey farmers are excited that this facility provides a place to conduct full-circle research from the poults’ arrival at the turkey farm to the final product by utilizing turkey processors here in the state,” he added. 

Zehr said Iowa turkey farmers are always evaluating ways they can do things better, which is one of the reasons for the facility’s existence.

“They seek out innovations to provide the turkeys with the best care, to make them the healthiest, and provide the consumers with the best product possible,” he said. “However, it was clear that there was not a facility in the U.S. that farmers, the turkey industry and companies could go to and get answers to their research questions.

“The current barns at Iowa State were 50-plus years old, and no longer represented the state-of-the art technology the industry is currently using,” he added. “A farmer-led committee was formed through the Iowa Turkey Federation and started working with Iowa State University on the project.

“After about seven years of work, the new Stanley L. Balloun Turkey Teaching & Research facility came to fruition,” he added.