Alumni Memories

Essays on the College of Agriculture's History

My Extension Story

By William G Zmolek, retired extension livestock specialist

I served on the Iowa State University Extension faculty 40 years – 4 years as county extension director and 36 years on campus as an extension livestock specialist. I retired in 1984.

During my student days at Iowa State the college used the quarter system instead of the semester system. Registration fees were $30 per quarter and I paid $10. I was an orphan and classified as a hardship case. Working my way through college was a must. Professor Art Anderson hired me to care for the on campus swine-teaching herd. The pay was 25.5 cents per hour plus my living quarters. My room was adjacent to the office and scale house of the swine barn and teaching pavilion. My toilet and shower was in the basement. It was warm and wet. The cockroaches were big enough to carry away my shoes. My roommate and I ate many meals of French toast, beans and Waldorf salad. These were happy times since I met Jean in the south ballroom at a mixer dance. We have been married 61 years and continue to dance.

During World War II, livestock producers were encouraged to produce and market large numbers of livestock. Little attention was given to the quality of product. Fat was needed for the war effort. The pig produced generous quantities. A 210-pound market hog had 2-3 inches of back fat. It had a small 2-3 square inch loin eye muscle, fat bacon and large amount of fat. Meanwhile, nutritionists were advising consumers to reduce their fat intake.

My first assignment on the state staff in 1948 was to develop an educational program to make swine producers aware of the need to produce for the market a leaner market pig. We learned from Iowa State animal-breeding research the type of breeding animal to select that would gain faster, have a meatier carcass and have less fat. Professor L.N. Hazel developed a method of making a small slit on the back of a pig that would permit the measuring of back fat. It did not injure the animal.

Under the leadership of Professor Ralph Durham, Iowa State built the first boar-testing station. Breeders consigned a pen of boar pigs to be fed in a similar environment to assess weight gain, feed efficiency and backfat depth. The superior boars were sold at auction. Inferior performing animals were castrated.

My extension responsibility was to transfer the research information to the producers. I used meetings, press, radio and TV to deliver the message. My wife was an extension widow during the winter months. I drove to many meetings on slick roads, white outs and fog.

Major effort was made to expose the producer to the characteristics of a desirable carcass. The university built a traveling refrigerated display trailer that permitted us to display carcass comparisons. This trailer was taken to field days and livestock exhibitions. In addition, with the cooperation of packing plants, producers would consign a pen of pigs and have a follow-up opportunity to study the carcasses in the cooler.

Crossbreeding larger, leaner breeds resulted in superior growing, more efficient, meatier market pigs. Artificial breeding extended the use of superior performing boars. The market pig of today weighs 265-275 pounds. Back fat is one inch or less. The loin measures 5-6 square inches. Today (2007) consumers say pork lacks marbling and is too dry. Can we ever stay in the middle of the road?

In the mid 1950’s my teaching responsibilities shifted to beef cattle and administration of our extension animal science section. It meant writing an annual report plus more committee meetings.

The progress, developments, and changes in the beef industry, from my early extension days are dramatic. Iowa was the leading cattle-feeding state. We marketed more grain-finished cattle than any other state. A large number of farmers finished 150 to 500 head. A farmer-feeder finishing 1,000-1,500 was an exception. Producers had little concern that any state would challenge Iowa’s No. 1 position. Iowa had the corn, skilled farmers and multiple market opportunities. I made a few speeches supporting this train of thought.

Several southwestern states market more grain-finished cattle than Iowa. Thousands of head are finished in large commercial feedlots that employ staff specialists to apply new technology. A drier climate presents a more favorable environment. Mud and snow is a disadvantage to Iowa feed lot operators.

In meeting after meeting, I reminded our producers they were keeping their cattle in the feedlot too long and marketing them too fat. Packer buyers encouraged the producers in this practice so the cattle would grade choice.

Iowa cattle-feeding remains an important economic industry. Fewer but larger operations are making use of the new technology — such as feed consumption, weight gains and computerized records. Extension specialists provide feeding, marking and management information.

In my early years, Angus, Hereford and Shorthand cattle were the dominant beef breeds. They were small frame. Slaughter steers were marketed at 1,000 pounds — heifers at 800-850 pounds. In some 4-H shows 800 pound steers were made champions. I judged many county fairs — hopefully I selected larger frame cattle. Now top producers wean 750-800 feeder calves. Slaughter weight is 1,200-1,300 pounds or more.

Visual appraisal was the major method of selecting breeding stock. Performance was given little attention. To measure performance, an Iowa Bull Testing Station was established by a fellow colleague. Breeders consigned young bulls to be fed in a similar environment. Bulls with superior records were sold at auction. Today performance trials are conducted by progressive cattlemen.

I witnessed the arrival of French Charolais that began the extensive practice of crossbreeding with the English breeds. Many imported breeds are in common use today. The English breeds have made progress in performance and carcass desirability.

In my time, our animal science and 4-H staff initiated youth shows incorporating performance. 4-H and FFA youngsters exhibit cattle that are evaluated for rate of gain and carcass superiority.

One of my significant contributions was the Iowa State National Beef grading conference in 1982. I chaired the planning committee with the help of many colleagues. Do the high marbling standards required for USDA beef grades contribute to the marketing of overfat cattle and high productions costs? That was the conference theme. Faculty from several universities, marketing experts, association representatives and progressive cattlemen made up the speaking roster and probed the above question.

A report was distributed and used by the beef industry.

I love Iowa State University and considered it a privilege to have been on the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, that is recognized for its excellence.