As the need for feeding an ever-growing population continues to expand, the School of Agricultural Sciences is poised to serve student interests and meet the needs of the agriculture, food and fiber industry today and in the future. One of the key agricultural resources at Northwest is the R.T. Wright Laboratory Farm, a fully-functioning 448-acre facility with a 100+ cow-calf beef enterprise, farrow-to-finish swine operation, 70+ cow herd dairy, and row crop production.
The school recently opened the Agricultural Learning Center, a 29,000-square-foot facility that houses classrooms, laboratories, and exposition space adjacent to the university farm. The final component of the Agricultural Learning Center is the buildout of a micro creamery.
Northwest is proposing to expand and enhance its dairy processing, and production facilities and programming to recruit additional students into the dairy industry, provide regional producers with exposure and education to the latest dairy technology and trends, and demonstrate the economic impact of on farm, value-added dairy products originating from small dairy producers. With the help of additional financial support, we will have the ability to process milk onsite and increase our profitability and agricultural literacy offerings.
