The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have broken ground in Prairie du Sac on a dairy research facility that will expand the two organizations’ long-standing partnership to tackle key issues affecting dairy farms.
Scheduled for completion in 2027, the new facility and its associated buildings will house robotic milking systems, chambers for measuring greenhouse gas emissions, an advanced animal nutrition unit and state-of-the-art laboratories for agronomy and dairy science, as well as offices and a visitor center.
“Wisconsin is America’s Dairyland, and we take very seriously our responsibility to conduct relevant research that can be put to use by our dairy farmers” said Dr. Glenda Gillaspy, dean of the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Situated on a 42-acre site about a 45-minute drive from Madison, the facility will broaden laboratory and field research aimed to improve soil health, forage production, forage quality, dairy nutrition, nutrient-use efficiency, ecosystem services, milk production, and resiliency in the face of climate change.
The ARS says the facility will enable research that better replicates conditions of modern dairy farms, from studies with free-stall pens to the use of automated milking systems that reflect the more than 35,000 robotic units operated on dairies worldwide.
