Purdue Dairy Facilities

DAIRY RESEARCH AND EDUCATION CENTER
Department of Animal Sciences
Purdue University

Dairy Unit Personnel

Purpose:
To provide the facilities needed to meet the research, teaching and extension demands of the Indiana dairy industry.

Herd Size:
Approximately 160 dairy cows and 160 dairy herd replacements

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Research Center Main building containing offices, Milking parlor, holding and animal work area, maternity, treatment room, metabolism area, analytical laboratory, and two tie-stall areas. Entire area temperature-controlled using air from two geothermal fields.
	Office Complex. Contains office for manager, computer room, conference room, restrooms for visitors, locker rooms for employees, students, and staff, and an observation deck so visitors can view the milking operation.
	Milking Parlor. Double 6 herringbone milking system, computerized, automatic cow ID, milk meter system, automatic removal devices, back flush, and stainless steel raceways, CIP equipment. Fresh water flush. 3,000 gallon bulk milk cooler.
	Holding and Work Area. Contains electronic scales for weighing animals, area to catch and hold animals for additional attention, space for demonstrations, and classes. Central area for working and sorting of animals.
	Metabolism Area. Space to collect feces and urine from up to 8 animals (male or female). Also, stanchions for up to 10 animals for intensive studies. All animals can be individually fed and milked in place using a portable milker. Small milk room with a 275 gallon self-contained refrigerator tank to store milk from cows milked in metabolism area.
	Analytical Laboratory. Facility for processing of feed and animal samples. Walk-in cooler and freezer.
	Maternity. 10 pens available with individual water bowls and feed mangers. Each pen has a lock-in stanchion with feed box. Diamond grooved surfaces to provide proper footing.
	Treatment Area. Two pens for sick animals with stocks, and lighting for veterinary treatment.
	Tie Stalls. Two areas, one with 32 and the other with 40 tie stalls for individual handling and feeding experiments. Each stall has an individual feed box and water bowl. A movable tie bar allows release of 8-10 animals simultaneously. Gutters with standing fresh water for intermittent flushing. Geothermal inlets at end of each tie stall area. Cows in the tie stall area have access to mounded dirt exercise lots.
Other Facilities Located at the Dairy Research Center
	Herd Barn. Cold barn with ridge and sidewall ventilation. 128 free stalls in 4 quadrants of 32 which can be further divided to 16. Electronic gates can be installed in place of self-locking stanchions for individual feed intake. Floor feeding, delivered with a mixer wagon, will be used for group feeding. Recycled lagoon water used to flush alleys using air controlled pop-up valves. The floor slope is 1.0%. Each quadrant has access to mounded dirt exercise lot. Bird netting to prevent birds from nesting.
	Calf Barn. Four rooms holding approximately 12 newborn calves each in individual pens. Two rooms for 48 calves in a grow-out stage. Individual and group feeding are possible. Shallow gutters with standing fresh water for flushing. Central work area for moving animals easily, and for processing milk and other feeds.
	Feed Center. Two 20 ft x 60 ft upright cement staves silos for haycrop silage and high moisture corn. Four 14 ft x 50 ft upright cement stave silos for experimental forages. Eight individual feed bins for supplements. Electronic scales and a electronic equipment for weighing, mixing and delivering feed to individual animals. Feed mixing wagon with electronic scales for group feeding. Office area for records and computer terminal to keep record of feed inventories, maintenance schedules, etc.
	Heifer Barn. Building 120 ft x 40 ft for herd replacements. Initially group feeding, but may be converted to electronic control of feed intake of individual animals. Exercise lots and pasture are accessible.
	Hay Barn. Building 192 ft x 40 ft for hay storage. May also be used for storage of experimental and by-product feeds, bedding and equipment.
	Bunker Silos. Two silos 36 ft x 78 ft x 12 ft with a total capacity of approximately 2100 ton corn silage.
	Flush Water Tank. Holds water recycled from the second stage of the two-stage lagoon system. This water is used to flush the lanes in the freestall barn.
	Waste Handling Facility. Features a solid-liquid separator to recover solids from the manure. Solids will be stored, composted and can be utilized for bedding. Liquid goes to the lagoon. Underground cement storage tank to collect liquid manure from all barns, (except maternity and heifer barns, which have solid manure handling), and to homogenize before separation.
	Lagoon. Two-cell lagoon with water from the second cell recycled to tanks at the Herd Barn for use in flushing.