Agri News, MN

01-16-07

ISU will be milking cows at new facility this fall

By Jean Caspers-Simmet

Agri News staff writer

WAVERLY, IOWA -- Iowa State University expects to be milking cows at its new dairy farm by fall, says ISU Extension dairy specialist Leo Timms.

"This new facility looks much like a commercial facility yet it has the flexibility for us to do a lot of great research and teaching," Timms told delegates at last week's Iowa State Dairy Association annual meeting in Waverly.

Groundbreaking for the dairy farm, which is under construction on 27 acres south of Ames, was held last spring.

Funding for the nearly $15 million facility is coming from proceeds from the sale of ISU's Ankeny Farm to the City of Ankeny. The Committee for Agricultural Development, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the university, is providing a $1 million grant to help develop the farm.

The farm will have 450 milking cows plus a similar number of heifers, dry cows and calves all on the same site.

The new facility's animal housing and management systems will match industry standards and use the latest technology available, Timms said.

There is a 456-cow free-stall barn, a milking center that will include a double-12 parallel subway milking parlor, public viewing area, classrooms and meeting rooms, a special needs hospital barn, a dry cow/transition barn for cows preparing to calve, a maternity barn for newborn calves, a calf research barn, and four heifer barns.

The manure handling systems will be the most effective management technologies available, Timms said.

The naturally ventilated free-stall barn includes mattresses as well as other forms of bedding. There are extra crossovers and waterers to facilitate small pen research. There are unique electrical and water grids for ventilation, water and lighting research.

Timms said having the university's dairy farm 27 miles away at Ankeny has its limitations for both teaching and research.

"It will be incredibly wonderful to have the dairy farm back near campus," Timms said.

The new research and teaching farm is an investment by ISU and the state in the dairy industry, and it has already brought research dollars to the table, Timms said.