Longtime research assistant appointed new extension animal science instructor
July 7, 2025
By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast Facts:
- Yancey joined Division of Agriculture in 2005
- New extension position will expand Yancey’s teaching opportunities
(929 words)
(Newsrooms: Download file art of Yancey)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A longtime meat scientist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is taking on an expanded role that will put her face-to-face with even more of her fellow Arkansans.
After serving for 20 years as a research assistant supporting meat science research for the Agricultural Experiment Station, the research and development arm of the Division of Agriculture, Janeal Yancey is now an extension instructor in animal science.
“I’m only six weeks in and still trying to figure out exactly what this is going to look like,” Yancey said with a laugh in early July.
Yancey joined the Division of Agriculture as a meat scientist in August of 2005, shortly after completing her Ph.D. in animal science at Kansas State University. Over the ensuing decades, Yancey not only conducted research in support of other scientists within the Division of Agriculture, be she also routinely taught undergraduate students entering the program and helped informally educate through her “Mom at the Meat Counter” blog and other social media efforts.
Yancey’s new position, which includes a 40 percent appointment with the Cooperative Extension Service, the outreach and education arm of the Division of Agriculture, will give her expanded agency to shape workshops and other programs for Arkansans across the state.
“I just want people to feel more confident working with animals,” Yancey said. “In agriculture, we raise this livestock, whether it’s sheep, cattle, pigs, or goats; we get them finished and we send them to market, and people feel like they don’t know anything about what happens to them from there, and the products they turn into.
“And the whole goal, when you put the bull with the cow, is to produce something that’s going to be a good product down the road,” she said. “I want people to feel more knowledgeable and confident about that part of their industry. So, it’s not just a black box of putting livestock in a truck and sending it to the sale barn and that’s the end of things.
“Whether it’s in a farmers market, a restaurant or a grocery store, I want people to be able to feel proud of the products they make,” she said.
Thirty-five percent of Yancey’s position remains with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, where she will continue conducting research, both as a primary investigator and in a support role for other researchers’ projects. The final 25 percent of her appointment is in teaching, which has long been part of her work in the animal science department.
“I teach the Intro to Animal Science class, which is often the first class people take in our department — that’s really fun,” Yancey said. “I also teach a class called Evaluation and Handling, which teaches students to evaluate livestock for market readiness, breeding potential and so on.
“I like being on campus,” she said. “I like being around college students. I love getting to see that ‘aha moment’ in a kid’s face when they figure something out, or you help them figure out what they want to do with their life.”
Michael Looper, head of the animal science department, said Yancey’s background and experience made her an ideal candidate for the new position.
"With years of experience and a national reputation in the meat industry, Dr. Yancey is the go-to source for meat-related questions pertaining to harvest, processing, meat color, and a myriad of other issues in meat fabrication,” Looper said. “It is my understanding that Arkansas has never had an extension position with a red meat emphasis.
"Dr. Yancey also has a passion for training the next generation of animal scientists and answering researchable questions pertinent to the meat industry,” he said.
Yancey grew up near Abilene, Texas, and was involved in both 4-H and FFA in her youth. She became known for her skill in livestock and meat judging and was recruited to be on the meat judging team at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in animal science. With a professor’s encouragement, she applied to graduate school at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, where she coached the meat judging team while completing her master’s degree in animal science.
“That’s when I realized how much I like academia,” Yancey said.
While attending Kansas State, she met her future husband, Edward Yancey, also a graduate student in animal science. After graduating, Edward moved to Springdale, Arkansas, where he joined Tyson Foods as a meat Scientist. When Janeal finished her Ph.D., she followed him to the area, and soon joined the Division of Agriculture in Fayetteville.
Today, the Yanceys live in Madison County with their two daughters, Vallie, 17, and Wyn, 11. Both girls are already involved in livestock raising and judging, Yancey said.
“In my husband’s family, when you’re born, you’re gifted some cows,” she said. “So the girls already had a little herd of cows when they were born. Those herds have grown, and now we have sheep, Vallie has goats and Wyn has gotten into chickens.”
Yancey said her initial efforts will be aimed at learning what her constituents are most interested in learning from her.
“The first thing I want to do is a questioning tour,” she said. “I want to visit with processors and cattlemen around the state and figure out what they’d like to know. The last thing I want to do is provide programs about stuff they don’t need or don’t care about. I want to just visit with people to determine what they want out of this position. Because I’m really serving the people of Arkansas.”
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
Pursuant to 7 CFR § 15.3, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services (including employment) without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, sexual preference, pregnancy or any other legally protected status, and is an equal opportunity institution.
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Media Contact:
Ryan McGeeney
rmcgeeney@uada.edu
501-671-2120