William Taylor, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Animal Science, is the instructor for AN S 3050: Livestock Evaluation. During the Fall 2025 semester, Professor Taylor had additional international perspectives beyond the knowledge his Iowa State students gained from studying abroad through the CALS Study Abroad Office. A few students in his class were exchange students, studying at Iowa State University from their home university in Dublin, Ireland, University College Dublin.
Iowa State University and University College Dublin have had an exchange agreement for over 20 years, allowing students to experience new cultures while completing their degree requirements. The exchange program offers students the opportunity to learn about everything from animal and crop production to agricultural systems technology to food science.
Professor Taylor has taught AN S 3050: Livestock Evaluation since Fall 2022. This course is comprised of 30-50 junior level students with interests in livestock evaluation. To increase their seedstock operations or develop a better understanding of livestock production systems, the course prepares students to evaluate numerous breeds of livestock.
Taylor said, "In practice this looks like students better understanding different production systems from across the country. Based on these systems they are tasked with understanding what tools are utilized in order to develop selection criteria. Finally, they spend time making and defending decisions regarding livestock production."
Taylor noted that international participation in the course isn't foreign. Any international student is eligible to enroll in AN S 3050, and many international students have participated even beyond the duration of Taylor teaching the course.
In terms of terminology, characteristics, or breed evaluation between the Irish and US students, Taylor highlighted the vast, yet enjoyable, differences. Taylor recalled, "The Irish students have fun and unique ways to describe animals." Additionally, he described that standards for evaluation are much different between the countries. Specifically, in beef cattle, the United States has a grading system in place to categorize value in market livestock, whereas Ireland does not.
Cross-cultural communication between students varies from year to year, but Taylor sees it happen quite often. He noted that he enjoys watching their interactions and discussions in class and even hearing stories about students seeing each other out of class.