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Iowa State University extension livestock specialist Russ Euken is the recipient of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 2025 staff Outstanding Achievement in Extension and Outreach Award. Created to recognize CALS faculty, campus staff, or field staff members who have demonstrated outstanding performance in statewide leadership to extension and outreach, and have achieved national recognition for contributions to outreach activities, the award is available annually for one faculty member and one P&S staff member.
Eligibility also includes a minimum of 10 years of service at ISU in CALS, and a recipient must be a CALS employee at the time of the spring awards ceremony.
Euken easily meets the criteria. He’s been with ISU Extension and Outreach for more than 40 years, serving with expertise, teamwork, and a focus on client needs.
Conservatively speaking, he has led or been a part of delivering approximately 450 educational programs, reaching more than 10,000 clients. As a livestock specialist, he’s a member of both the Iowa Beef Center team and the Iowa Pork Industry Center team and works with a variety of colleagues, producers, and business representatives in both industries throughout Iowa.
“Russ provides a great deal of institutional knowledge to our Iowa beef team, in terms of what we have accomplished, past projects, and suggestions to improve current projects,” said IBC interim director Denise Schwab. “He also is very good at developing spreadsheet tools to assist producers in making decisions for their individual operations.”
IPIC director Laura Greiner echoed those comments, saying he’s been an integral part of that team as well.
“Russ has a great connection with swine producers and has been instrumental in the development of various spreadsheets and calculators that provide value to the Iowa swine industry,” she said.
Euken is based in Garner in the Hancock County Extension office and directly serves 20 central and north-central counties. He is pictured on the left, receiving his award certificate from CALS Dean Dan Robison.
April 4, 2025 - Iowa State University
