Fargo, N.D. – One of the top beef research facilities in the world is now open for business. This summer, NDSU held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new North Dakota State University Beef Cattle Research Complex. The facility, which cost more than $3 million, will help meet the challenges of 21st century beef cattle production.

NDSU President Dean L. Bresciani said the complex raises livestock research to a new level at the university. “This literally is a game-changer for NDSU and for the state of North Dakota,” Bresciani said. “It re-establishes our capacities to advance beef cattle research on a worldwide level and there is no facility at any university in this country and there are very few in the world that rival what we¹re going to be able to do here in North Dakota.”

State-of-the-art research will be conducted in a number of areas of beef production, including nutrition, reproductive physiology, genomics, cattle management and production, pre-harvest food safety, animal behavior, environmental management, nutrient management and meat sciences and carcass quality.

The facility, which can handle up to 192 cattle, will give NDSU a distinct advantage in beef cattle research. Only three other facilities in North America have the specialized feeding equipment used at the complex.

It complements intensive campus-based facilities such as the Animal Nutrition and Physiology Center and the extensive research capabilities at the Research Extension Centers in Carrington, Streeter, Hettinger and Dickinson.”

“This is a great facility that will enhance our research efforts on management, reproduction, nutrition and physiology of beef cattle. The ability to carry out precise experiments in these areas will greatly impact the beef cattle industry in the state for many years,” said Ken Grafton, interim vice president for Agriculture and University Extension, director of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and dean of NDSU’s College of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources.

The complex consists of a feeding area, cattle handling system, calving pens, an office and laboratory area, and a facility for mixing and storing feed.