(28 Jul 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
East Lansing, Michigan – 28 July 2025
1. Various of cows arriving at Michigan State University’s new Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center
2. SOUNDBITE (English) George Smith, MSU AgBioResearch director:
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“Well, this is a monumental day for Michigan agriculture on the Michigan State University campus, because it’s a new beginning. We are moving animals into our new state-of-the-art Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center and it’s really going to be exciting to see that 21st century cattle drive as those animals walk over from the old facility to our new facility. Now, this will be a gradual process. So, we’re not moving the entire herd today, but rather some initial animals to help them get acclimated to the new facility.”
3. Various of cows beginning to exit their old home
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Kim Dodd, MSU Veterinary Medicine dean:
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“For years, we’ve been limited in what we could do in terms of dairy cattle research, because of the size and capabilities of the previous facility. This new facility will increase the number of cattle by two-and-a-half to three times, allowing us to tackle multiple high-priority research efforts all at once. Our old facility didn’t have the technical capabilities to be able to train our students for what to expect when they graduated, what dairy cattle production looks like today.”
5. Various of dairy cattle in their new home
6. Cattle on the move
7. SOUNDBITE (English) George Smith, MSU AgBioResearch director:
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“Yeah, while other institutions are disinvesting in dairy programs, we are investing in the future of the dairy industry in the state of Michigan, because it’s so critical to the state’s agricultural economy.”
8. A cow moos
9. SOUNDBITE (English) George Smith, MSU AgBioResearch director:
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“And beyond that, who doesn’t love ice cream? So, who can’t get excited about new opportunities in the field of dairy science?”
10. A cow approaches and moos
STORYLINE:
Dozens of dairy cattle were on the moo-ve Monday at Michigan State University.
About 80 cows were transported to their new home, the Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center, a $75 million facility the East Lansing school says will allow students to learn on a modern farm that’s equipped to replicate even the most high-tech operations in the world today.
George Smith, who heads up Michigan State’s AgBioResearch department, called it a “21st century cattle drive.” The remaining 180 cows are expected to be walked from the old building to the new one on Tuesday.
The new complex is significantly larger than the existing dairy farm, which was constructed in the 1960s and was so limited that researchers have a backlog of up to two years on funded projects.
The existing MSU Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center currently houses 250 dairy cattle and supports the research of faculty in the colleges of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Veterinary Medicine. The new facility features a 165,000-square-foot cattle barn that will expand research capacity by increasing herd size to 680. Those cows will arrive in batches in the coming weeks and months.
The new space also includes modernized barns, feed centers, milking parlors and labs.
“Our old facility didn’t have the technical capabilities to be able to train our students for what to expect when they graduated, what dairy cattle production looks like today,” Kim Dodd, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, said Monday.
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