Persia Named New Egg Industry Center Director

Dec 15, 2025

A former Iowa State University faculty member is returning to Ames to serve as the next director of the Egg Industry Center (EIC).

Michael Persia, the John W. Hancock Professor in the School of Animal Sciences at Virginia Tech, will begin his new role on June 1, 2026. Prior to joining Virginia Tech in 2013, he spent four years as an assistant professor of animal science at Iowa State. He has also worked at Syngenta Animal Nutrition and earned his academic credentials at The Pennsylvania State University, The Ohio State University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Brett Ramirez, associate professor in agricultural and biosystems engineering and EIC associate director, has been serving as interim director of the EIC since February 2024, following the passing of former EIC director Richard Gates.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Persia back to Iowa State and to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. His expertise in poultry nutrition and management, networks throughout the industry and many years doing research, teaching and extension in the animal and poultry sciences fields will serve him well in this role. This will include key work with the board of the EIC and its many stakeholders and cooperators across the U.S. and Canada, reflecting its role as a global center located at Iowa State, but serving the industry broadly,” said Daniel J. Robison, holder of the Endowed Dean’s Chair in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “We are so grateful for Dr. Ramirez’s outstanding leadership during this interim period and the tremendous ways he has continued to move the EIC forward in supporting the nation’s egg producers and our university missions. Many thanks, as well, to the search committee, led by Jason Ross, for their work on this important effort.”

Persia’s research at Virginia Tech focuses on increasing the efficiency of chicken and turkey production through enhanced nutrient management and a better understanding of their digestive processes. Highlights of his work include helping introduce to the market a new phytase feed ingredient, updating poultry nutrient requirements and developing ways to reduce antibiotic use in poultry feed.

In 2022, he received the Poultry Nutrition Research Award from the American Feed Industry Association in recognition of his research.

Source : iastate.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.