The University of Vermont College of Agriculture and Life Sciences officially broke ground on April 15 on a new instructional barn and milking parlor and a new research barn at the Paul R. Miller Agricultural Research Farm, Phase I of a two-phase, $10 million upgrade of the farm, located on Spear Street in Burlington.
Speakers at the event included Chuck Ross, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Food, Nutrition and Markets; Tom Vogelmann, dean of UVM’s College of Agriculture and Life Science; David Kerr, interim chair of the department of animal and veterinary science, and first-year student Eleni Casseri.
Eleni Casseri on UVM Farms
I think I speak on behalf of all CREAMers past and present when I say this farm has become a sanctuary from the stress of college classes. Whenever I have a rough day, a hard exam, or just need the comfort of an animal I run, bike or drive the mile and a half to the farm and find my favorite heifer Echo. As soon as I see her and wrap my arms around her big head I immediately feel relief from whatever stress I was feeling from the day. I’ll be honest, there is nothing like dodging a giant slobbery tongue coming at you as you give a big cow chin a good scratch! Like I said, the other CREAMers and I love coming to the farm even when we don’t have to be here. Every single time we are here, it is a learning experience, as there is always something new going on! I mean, what other classes require you to get up at 3:30am to assist the birth of a calf or milk a herd of Holsteins? This is one of the most rewarding classes I have ever taken and ever will take, as I am learning by doing, and not just sitting in a lecture. That is why I am so excited for the construction of the new barn. Currently, we milk up to 34 cows using 4 portable milkers, as this design was innovative and new for when the barn was originally built, but with a new barn present and future CREAM classes will learn how the modern dairy industry works. As an extremely hands-on class that teaches how real-world agriculture and businesses work, it’s important that we are keeping up with learning relevant things in today’s ever-changing world. This barn will be bigger and we will be able to milk more cows. It was also be more efficient, because we will have a milking parlor. Our class will also have the potential to decide whether or not to milk three times a day instead of two, which will increase our milk yield and be better for our cows! Our cows health and well being is one of the top priorities on our farm, so putting our girls in a larger barn with better ventilation will be a huge upgrade from the smaller barn they are in now. And everyone knows that happy cows means good milk! So to us, this barn means learning in an environment fit for today’s modern world and fit to keep our beloved animals healthy. With this new barn, I will be able to see how the dairy and agriculture industries of today work and run. The experiences I have had already and the things I will be able to learn come this fall will be knowledge I know I will use for the rest of my life. I am hoping to attend veterinary school in the future, and the CREAM program has only increased my desire to be a production animal veterinarian. The CREAM program is known by veterinary schools across the country, and this new facility will make our already well-respected program even better. Students who graduate from the program will be better equipped to enter careers in all areas of the dairy and agriculture industries. We have so many successful alumni and this new barn will keep that legacy alive. I think it is a university’s duty to be a pioneer of change and use the resources they have to be a model for others in all industries. By building this new barn, UVM is creating a unique learning environment and a facility that can keep up in the tough dairy business. This is such an amazing opportunity and we are all so grateful to be a part of this great change coming to our class, department, and university. I spend a lot time here now, but when this barn is built I know I will have an even harder time leaving this place and getting back to whatever work I have to do.What the Farms Means to UVM
Her remarks were especially well received by a cluster of fellow students. But founder of the CREAM program (see below) James "Gilly" Gilmore stood with his arms crossed listening, and was overheard saying, "They've still got it. These students still have the passion."
The $2.55 million, 13,176-square-foot teaching barn and milking parlor will accommodate an instructional herd of 50 cows and be completed in mid-September. For reasons of student safety, both facilities have safety and fire suppression systems not commonly found in barns.
The 8,764 square foot, $987,100 research barn will be used by CALS faculty and their graduate and undergraduate students to conduct short-term, intensive trials on dairy cows related to nutrition, reproduction and animal health. It will also be completed by mid-September.
To make way for the buildings, a little used, open-stall cow barn located at the front of the complex was deconstructed begining last February. Another occasion involving taking turns at a sledgehammer to breakthrough the side of the barn marked that effort. The barn was built in the 1960s.
The instructional barn and milking parlor will be used by animal science majors for a variety of courses and for hands-on research projects during their junior and senior years.
They will also serve as home base for students in UVM’s Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management, (CREAM) program.
The 13 to 16 students selected each year for the two-semester, eight-credit CREAM program handle all aspects of managing the 50-cow teaching herd, from adjusting feed mixtures to monitoring animal health to handling the business side of the operation. Students also perform all barn chores.
The program prepares students for a variety of fields, including business management, community development and applied economics, animal science and biology.
Phase II of the project is the renovation of the historic Fitzsimmons Arena at the Miller Farm.