MTSU and the School of Agribusiness and Agriscience celebrated the grand opening of the new, nearly $4.4 million dairy and dedication of the MTSU Experiential Learning and Research Center Thursday at the MTSU Farm in Lascassas.
“This $2.7 million state-of-the-art dairy facility is the most visible part of an almost $4.4 million investment in our farm campus,” University President Sidney A. McPhee shared with the crowd of 400 people. “You will also have the opportunity to tour the new hay barn and farm shop, as well as see the improvements to the student gardens. This is an important educational investment for our students.”
McPhee also talked about the change in the name to its new designation.
“The farm is on 435 acres of property previously known as the Guy James Farm,” McPhee said. “Mr. James was a respected member of the farming community for many years.
“But today, with all the improvements, we are going to re-brand this farm with the name MTSU School of Agribusiness and Agriscience Experiential Learning and Research Center.
“This name captures the spirit of the wonderful student-centered work that is already happening here every day.”
Later, ag school Director Dr. Warren Gill called it “a great day in the history of this program. The alumni and community support was a real positive. A lot of our (ag) students turned out. They see what happens when the community and alumni show this kind of support, and the students doing positive things is a great reflection on the alumni and community.”
The dairy’s features include a double-eight parallel milking parlor with rapid-exit gates that can milk 16 cows at a time and a computer-controlled milking system with individual cow-ID and cow-activity measurements, along with real-time milk weights and milk-quality measurements. The milking system includes an in-line heat exchanger to precool the milk to 58 degrees before it enters a 2,000-gallon bulk tank, where it will be cooled again to 38 degrees.
Before the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Farm Lab Director Tim Redd dedicated the day to Dr. Harley Foutch, former director of the School of Agribusiness and Agriscience; Tennessee Department of Agriculture Commissioner Julius Johnson shared remarks; current ag school Director Dr. Warren Gill thanked everyone for attending and shared what the rest of the day’s agenda included; and John Hood, MTSU director of government and community affairs, welcomed guests.
Attendees toured the dairy’s milking parlor and other farm facilities and received a free dinner.
Next week, Redd will oversee the moving of 70 cows from the milking herd from the old dairy on Manson Pike in the Blackman community to the new dairy.
The ag program has grown to 525 majors, a 14 percent increase from 2010-11, and 10 graduate students this fall. The department includes 14 full-time faculty, one Underrepresented Minority Dissertation Fellow and eight full-time staff.
