IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — A three-year study by Iowa State University on cattle performance at a confinement owned by Board of Regents President Bruce Rastetter will be beneficial to all beef producers, Rastetter and the researchers say.

ISU researchers have been working with Rastetter’s company, Summit Farms LLC, to study whether cattle grow bigger and healthier with less feed when they stand on rubber mats instead of concrete, as the mat manufacturers claim. Preliminary findings published in an industry newsletter last year suggested mats may be beneficial but were inconclusive, and more detailed data is expected to be released in coming months.