By Jack Falinski
There’s no question Michigan State University’s new $75-million state-of-the-art Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center is impressive to the eye.
Over 650 cows housed in a 165,000-square-foot barn interacting with cutting-edge technology like automatic milking robots and advanced feed systems — while also being supported by MSU’s Anaerobic Digestion Research and Extension Center (ADREC) where organic waste is transformed into a public asset — makes this a world-class facility.
But what also makes this facility one of a kind isn’t its design, but the opportunities it’s creating for dynamic partnerships to come alive and lead the next wave of dairy innovation.
Keith Kenny and Mark Brooking see the potential. In February, the two traveled from the U.K. to tour the center and explore how approaches already being deployed at scale within dairy supply chains in the U.K. could be adopted into U.S. operations and supply chains.
A key customer of First Milk is Nestlé, which has an agreement with the co-op to reward farmers who actively work to lessen their environmental footprint and safeguard the natural resources on their land.
It’s all about working together, Brooking said. It doesn’t matter where you’re at in the supply chain or where you’re at in the world. There are steps each player can take to strengthen food systems while protecting the land and promoting ecological function.
“There is only one planet,” Brooking said. “Whether you’re farming in the U.K. or the U.S., the challenges are shared. Farmers hold enormous power to work with nature to address them. Our responsibility is to ensure farmers are recognized and rewarded for doing so.”
For Brooking and Kenny, MSU represents a unique opportunity to connect farmer-led practice, scientific rigor and market incentives at a scale not yet seen in the U.S.
Source : msu.edu