New swine and cattle facilities help Virginia Tech grow agriculture
The new buildings enhance hands-on learning and cutting-edge industry research in the School of Animal Sciences.
By Marya Barlow
Two new facilities at Kentland Farm are advancing research and education that will help the swine and beef cattle industries thrive far into the future.
The Virginia Tech Swine Center includes a swine production and research facility, classroom, boar housing and gestation areas, and rooms for farrowing, nursery, and finishing. Inside the 24,000-square-foot, state-of-the art buildings, students are exposed to all aspects of swine care and production.
“We’ve set up a facility that’s on par with what students will see in the industry and provides the best possible opportunities for students to learn,” said Swine Center Manager Jessica Neary M.S. ’22.
Neary is currently starting a breeding herd from 60 sows and hopes to gradually grow capacity to about 1,000 hogs.
“We are fortunate to have a facility where we get to work with all the life stages – from farrow to finish,” said Dana Dougherty B.S ’23, M.S. ’24, a student researcher and worker in the Swine Center. “I’ve been able to get hands-on experience in the production and research sides of the swine industry.”
School of Animal Sciences researchers are using the center for studies aimed at improving swine and human health and industry profitability.
The Beef Nutrition and Physiology Research Facility is a 33,000-square-foot, mostly open-air structure that includes 20 stalls for feed and nutrition studies, loading chutes, a feed mixing room, laboratory space, grain and bulk commodity bins, and a hay shed.
Research and student programs in the facility support the cow-calf industry — Virginia’s second-largest commodity — and focus on enhancing health, sustainability, and profitability in beef cattle production.
Assistant Professor Rodrigo Marques in the School of Animal Sciences is using the new facility to study how certain nutrients minimize stress and enhance cow and calf performance. Beginning next fall, he will teach courses on applied nutrition and animal health in the facility.
“You can bring any company or student here and they will be amazed by what Virginia Tech has here,” he said. “We will be able to add a lot of value to Virginia’s cattle operations through the research and teaching that takes place in this facility.”
Virginia is among the top 20 cattle-producing states in the U.S. and Virginia Tech is dedicated to producing the research and workforce that helps the industry remain profitable and thriving.
The new teaching and research facilities are the latest in a number of technological advances and facility updates that support the university's commitment to smart farming and modern research and agricultural methods.
“Along with our new equine and poultry facilities, the new Swine Center and Beef Nutrition and Physiology Research Facility place Virginia Tech at the forefront of livestock production technology, education, and research,” said Dave Gerrard, director of the School of Animal Sciences. “We aim to keep agriculture – Virginia’s No. 1 industry – growing for the future.”