Dr. Dale Woerner

Cargill awarded Texas Tech and Dr. Woerner with $750,000 for research in meat science (September 2018)

Goal for Cargill: sustainable meat science -
"Improving the way we produce meat, but making sure there is a supply to work in the industry"

"We are in constant contact and communication with Cargill"

Working in the areas of beef, poultry / turkey

"Beef and turkey are at the top of our list"

"At Tech our meat and animal science program produces more students with an interest in meat science than any other place in the country due to the undergraduate involvement in meat judging, market animal evaluation, and quiz bowl teams."

"Tech offers extracurricular in a neat way, which is
what is driving interest in meat science."

"I believe that is what Cargill recognized years ago and why they decided to make a contribution to Texas Tech."

"A lot of our meat judging students aren't just animal
science, but getting them excited about the meat industry and perhaps they find a career in the meat industry."

"My view is positive, everything is great and I am excited to have the tremendous students that are here in animal and food sciences and college wide."

"The endowment professorship allows me to do is to have a lot of flexibility in hiring graduate and undergraduate students to work in our labs."

"It has also allowed me to equip our laboratory to a higher level so we are more capable to do more for the industry as a whole and in particular, Cargill."

"Cargill not only wants to produce better agricultural products, they want to make sure they have employees and team members."

More than 30 students in the program in meat science and food safety

"It's great, we have projects going right now with Cargill, we have projects going with National Cattleman's Beef Association and the American Lamb Board

"Labor is the number one concern universally."

"Generally speaking old timers are not confident in young people in the industry."

"I think Texas Tech is an exception to that - I think people are overwhelmingly pleased with students coming out of the college of agriculture as students that are prepared and do have work ethic."

"We are in agriculture, we are producing product for a profit, hopefully, so it’s a business but we are doing that to supply food and fiber for the world and we need more advocates."

"We can do all we want in a dark room and everyone will forget about agriculture and take it for granted that their food comes from a grocery store rather than the farm, so that message is what we need advocates to deliver."

"The entire industry needs that message in a proactive way."

"We are a very retroactive / responsive industry when it comes to media or responding to how we produce products. Certainly we’ve gotten better at that, especially in the past 20 years, we’ve seen drastic improvement, but I still see a defense mode, even if its proactive, it’s very defensive, let’s not do that and just be proactive and transparent and tell them what we do and talk about farming and ranching families and how good the people are."

"What are they truly trying to do?"

"Restaurant hotel management is wanting to join forces with Animal and Food Sciences and Wildlife Management because they have a demand for people to manage hunting lodges. They want them to know something about food production and obviously about the animals being hunted and or harvested."

"The 3 interdisciplinary programs complement each other perfectly to provide students in the work force a very niche market."

"It's stuff like that that again that sets Tech and their students apart. To specialize and find something they’re passionate about and make it a career."

"If you told me before I came to Tech 7 months ago and talking to someone about processing and cooking meat for a wild game hunting operation, working with chefs and people who manage hotels and restaurants, I wouldn’t have guessed that".

"All 3 of those things are my top 3 hobbies.
I love to hunt and be outdoors, check that box.
I’m passionate about agriculture and meat science,
and I love to cook steaks and bar-b-q."

"I also like the restaurant industry, those are all 3 things that if I want to accomplish something in my career I would love to work in those 3 areas. Within the first 7 or 8 months being on the job that opportunity is here and I’m confident I wouldn’t have had that opportunity in my previous position."

"That’s huge and it’s the same for a student.
Really the sky is the limit, your career is completely chosen by what you do here."

"I hope in the future I broaden those opportunities not only in the college of Agriculture but for other colleges at the University."

"Both my wife and I are originally from Texas, so we wanted to move back to be closer to family."

7 year-old son

"I was recruited for the position, I was fortunate enough to earn, or win the position."

"Cargill wanted someone in the industry that was known for doing research, and for training."
Combination of research and teaching.

Undergrad & Master's 1999-2005

Outstanding student in Animal Food Science - 2003

Member of Reserve National Meat Judging team - 2001

Distinguished Alumni for CASNR - 2018

Ph.D. (2005-2009)

Member of Colorado State's Program of Research and Scholarly Excellence

Assistant Professor (Aug. 2009-June 2015)

Associate Professor (July 2015 - Aug. 2018)

"What Tech does extremely well that Cargill and others in the agriculture industry is the extracurricular things Tech is doing is what sets them apart."

"The level of education a student can receive in the classroom nationwide is going to be comparable but what Tech does exceptionally well and that I believe Cargill and others in the agriculture field recognize is the extracurricular things that Tech is doing is what sets them apart."

"The great thing about this University is that it is so diverse, and as long as you have people that are willing to work together then opportunities like this exist, they happen."

Tech's balance of interdisciplinary programs within the College is also another awesome way to set students apart.

"If I just closed my door and sat on the phone or computer all day and only got up to teach the 2 classes that I am this semester and had no interaction with my students, I wouldn’t be good at my job."

"How do I do this job and have this title? It’s by being interdisciplinary, by having an eyes open attitude, interacting, doing research, being out in the field, and talking to students."

"That’s how you make a difference."

Anecdotal Quote

Little did Texas Tech alumnus, Dale Woerner, Ph.D., know he would receive such a prestigious honor as being named the Cargill Endowed Professorship upon his arrival in August 2018.

Picture of Dr. Woerner in the classroom

Head-shot of Dr. Woerner in the meat lab

Picture of a Cargill logo of some type possibly in the meat lab or in the Animal Science building

Other sources

I plan to interview a graduate or undergrad student.

Another source I would like to interview is a Cargill employee that helped choose Woerner

I would like to interview the department chair, Michael Orth, Ph.D.