NC State builds new dairy barn

The cutting-edge dairy barn (right) stands next to the Great Depression-era barn it replaces (middle) on the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine Campus.

Photos: John Joyner/NC State College of Veterinary Medicine

North Carolina State University has added a state-of-the-art dairy barn to its College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) campus.¹ Perks of the new facility—equipped with misters and industrial fans for relief from the North Carolina heat—include a waste-disposal system, hydraulic gates, and new data-collecting technology, not to mention the barn’s significantly larger size. The building now stands next-door to the milking parlor and barn that it replaces, which were built after the Great Depression in the 1930s. The college has expressed interest in keeping the historic structures around, turning them into multifunctional teaching spaces.¹

“It’s a very stark contrast,” Allison West, DVM, clinical veterinarian at NC State’s Teaching Animal Unit (TAU), said in an NC State News article.¹ “It’s about 50 to 60 years of updated technology happening in this building. I mean, personally, I enjoy palpating cows in the fans so much more.”

The barn opened as part of NC State’s TAU, the CVM’s working farm and hands-on teaching lab.² The new space doubles the number of cows that can be milked simultaneously from 3 to 6, and more than triples observational space, from 2 students to at least 10.¹

Cows in the new NC State CVM dairy barn

After the most recent calving season, the barn houses more than 40 cows, which produce an average of 90 lb of milk each day. Milk is collected multiple times per week, pasteurized, and distributed to local grocers and coffee shops as part of the college’s collaboration with the Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association. Similarly, the new waste-disposal system washes waste from the floor of the barn into a waste shed, where the solids are separated, dried, and sold to a third-party company for composting.¹

The cows’ quality of life has also improved since moving to their new home. The misters and industrial fans, in addition to cooling them off in the summer heat, also help reduce the fly count in the barn. Cows can also dig out resting spots in free stalls filled with sand, that are both comfortable and help prevent mastitis, one of the most common medical challenges with dairy cows. Mastitis occurs when microbes enter the teat through the teat canal. According to Merck Veterinary Manual, inorganic bedding supports less bacteria growth than cellulose-based material, thus sand is ideal when compared to materials like sawdust and straw._³ West also applauded the ease of accessing the cows’ udders in the new facility, making it a simpler and cleaner process to check on the animals.

The accessible new barn makes milking and mastitis checks easier

“All I can say is that this project means happy cows,” Mike Veach, manager of the dairy farm, said. “They are clean, cool, and comfortable in this new barn.”

West compared the college’s new method for data-collection to “cow Fitbits,” as the animals now wear stat-tracking collars. The collars collect information about the cow’s food intake, daily mobility, and fertility. The idea is for this information to be used in future research projects and increase the efficiency of the operation.¹

“The collar automatically tracks their number and how much milk they’re producing,” West said. “It also tracks how much they’re eating, how much they’re ruminating, how much they’re lying down – so we can catch a problem 24 to 48 hours before our girls actually look sick.”

She commended the new facility for the positive role it’s played in keeping the cows healthy. “With the cooler space, we’ve had increased conception rates, decreased metabolic disease, decreased respiratory disease because they’re not hot. And it’s decreasing foot problems because they’re on concrete, so it’s helping all around.”¹

Fans in the new barn keep the cows 20 degrees cooler

NC State broke ground on the facility in late October 2021. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Paul Lunn, former dean of the NC State CVM, shared the critical role that the R.B. Terry Charitable Foundation played in the construction of the new dairy barn, providing the college with 80% of the funding.⁴ Nearly 3 years later, the dairy barn is ready for the Fall 2024 semester.^1,4

“I think the new space will really pique interest in where the dairy industry could go because our building is designed to maximize cow comfort and be responsible with our waste and efficient with our milking,” West said to NC State News. “Hopefully, it will inspire more students to go into large animal medicine, too.”

References

1. Wheeler B. State-of-the-Art Dairy Barn a Cool Addition to NC State Veterinary Campus. North Carolina State News. August 20, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://news.cvm.ncsu.edu/state-of-the-art-dairy-barn-a-cool-addition-to-nc-state-veterinary-campus/
2. College of Veterinary Medicine. North Carolina State University. Accessed August 21, 2024. https://cvm.ncsu.edu/
3. Wieland M. Mastitis in Cattle. Merck Veterinary Manual. May 2024. Accessed August 22, 2024. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/reproductive-system/mastitis-in-large-animals/mastitis-in-cattle
4. Volstad S. Progress Continues at NC State Vet Med with Dairy Barn Groundbreaking. North Carolina State News. November 8, 2021. Accessed August 22, 2024. https://news.cvm.ncsu.edu/progress-continues-at-nc-state-vet-med-with-dairy-barn-groundbreaking/#:~:text=Construction%20of%20the%20new%20dairy,for%20the%20equine%20hospital%20project