According to a media advisory from UW’s College of Ag and Life Sciences, cows returned to the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Dairy Cattle Center on Sept. 1, around five months after they were removed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Without students on campus for the end of spring semester or summer term, the teaching-focused center was temporarily shuttered on March 27. At that time, the center’s cows were moved to Emmons Blaine Dairy Cattle Research Center located at the university’s Arlington Agricultural Research Station.
The Dairy Cattle Center is now reopened, part of starting the new school year. The center is following public health guidelines to protect students, researchers and facility staff.
According a press release from March 30th of this year, “the DCC was built in 1956 to replace the original dairy barn built in 1898. It underwent a $3 million renovation in 2013 to update feed storage, milking facilities, ventilation and living conditions for the cattle, as well as a $800,000 renovation of the classroom, laboratory, and locker room spaces in 2017. In a typical academic year, the facility is used heavily by undergraduate, graduate and professional students in UW–Madison’s dairy science, veterinary medicine and Farm and Industry Short Course programs for hands-on training and research. Fifteen courses use the facility during a typical academic year. It is also used for numerous research projects that require close proximity to campus laboratories.”
Source: midwestfarmreport.com
