The next time you see someone in a grocery store aisle enthusiastically teaching customers about the pork industry, it might be the Iowa Pork Industry Center’s new Extension specialist, Lindsay Peters.

Peters began in January and is responsible for content development, website management and overall support for pork center programming efforts.

The Iowa Pork Industry Center at Iowa State University is a coordinated effort of the colleges of agriculture and veterinary medicine. Its mission is to:

As an advocate of Iowa’s pork producers, Peters says she enjoys speaking and learning from the people she meets.

“I was interested in this position because I’m very passionate about educating producers and other individuals about the swine industry, and about keeping available informational materials current and relevant for producers,” she says.

Peters graduated from ISU with a master’s in animal physiology in December, and this work allowed her to meet and work with faculty and staff affiliated with the pork center over the past few years. Through these connections, she was able to network with large integrators, researchers, pork associations and others in the industry.

“Building these relationships early has allowed me to kickstart my role as the new ISU Extension specialist,” she says.

Peters grew up on a small farm in northeast Nebraska, raising a few cow-calf pairs and a small number of grow-finish hogs, as well as horses and rabbits. She was actively involved in showing all four species through 4-H and FFA. After receiving her bachelor’s in animal science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she went to ISU for her master’s degree.

Caring for livestock

“I’m driven to improve caretaker mental welfare,” Peters says. “My grad school research helped me understand learning styles, personality types and culture differences. These factors can positively affect the mental welfare of people who take care of livestock.”

Through her thesis work, she built a tailored swine euthanasia training module based on personality type that can help support swine caretaker welfare.

“I want to improve the industry’s knowledge, and how tools and procedures can be used to ensure barn labor is well taken care of,” she says. “We cannot ensure the welfare of our pigs without labor to care for them.”

Peters can be reached by email at [email protected] and by phone at 515-294-8963.

Source: Iowa State University