Farm News
06-20-07
ISU dairy facility to open in October
by TIA BARKLEY , FARM NEWS STAFF
AMES — Iowa State University Dairy Animal Science Education and
Discovery Facility will be an asset to Iowa State University (ISU) dairy science
students, Iowa’s dairy industry and Iowa, officials said.
When the ISU dairy program was established in 1896 the dairy cows were
housed in barns on the ISU campus. In 1908 the ISU dairy was finished allowing
the dairy cattle to move off campus into a modern facility. In 1935 a fire
destroyed the main barn, when the barn was reconstructed it included a milking
parlor, one of the first in Iowa.
In the 1940s the Ankeny dairy was constructed as breeding project site. The two
dairies have worked together to provide ISU students with a quality education in
dairy science. The Ames site was focused primarily on teaching students and the
Ankeny site had become a research facility.
In 2002 the general assembly instructed ISU to sell the Ankeny dairy and use the
money to construct a more modern facility. ‘‘The Ames and Ankeny sites were
both outdated. The sites were being squeezed by urbanization and there was a
strong need for a more modern facility,’’ said Maynard Hogberg, chair of ISU’s
Animal Science. In May 2006 the construction process started with the hope of
having the project complete by the end of 2007.
‘‘The weather has been a challenge, with the late winter and the rainy spring but
we are hopeful the dairy will be open in October 2007,’’ said Hogberg.
The new dairy will be located on the southern end of the animal corridor and will
be able to hold 450 head of dairy cattle, 100 more then the Ankeny site. Along
with more dairy cattle the new dairy will have special needs/hospital barn barn,
maternity barn for new born calves, and a calf research barn focused nutritional
and husbandry research. All of the barns will match dairy industry standards as
well as utilize the newest technologies in the dairy industry.
‘‘The modern dairy will aid Iowa’s dairy industry because it will allow Iowa State
to better train students that will be going out into the dairy industry. The new dairy
will also allow for an expansion of dairy research at the university,’’ said Hogberg.
‘‘The dairy industry is growing in Iowa, this dairy will support the growth.’’
ISU currently has more then 300 students who enroll in dairy-related classes,
many of these classes will take place in the new dairy. At the front of the dairy
there will be a ‘‘Dairy Center’’ that will include classrooms and meeting rooms
that will encourage dairy science as well as animal science.
‘‘When the Ames dairy was decommissioned we had a lot less hands on
experience, but soon there will be even more contact with the animals then there
had been at the old dairy,’’ said Jessica Westoff, senior at Iowa State University.
‘‘The new dairy will be a valuable part of future dairy science students learning
and understanding of the dairy industry.’’
Westoff is a dairy science major who plans on starting her own dairy operation
after graduation. ‘‘The new dairy is going to be a leading research center for
Iowa. It will increase the dairy production and dairy economy in Iowa, which is
always a good thing,’’ added Westoff.
Section: News
Posted: 6/20/2007