at Lake Wheeler Road
Field Laboratory
Hailed by Rep. Harold Brubaker
as “a new facility that’s going to expand the horizons of
what we teach at the university,” the Beef Education Unit was formally
dedicated on April 3 at N.C. State University.
Chancellor Marye Anne Fox and Dean James L. Oblinger of the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences joined Brubaker in leading the
ribbon-cutting ceremonies, which were followed by an open house and
tours of the site at the Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory.
The new Beef Education Unit
provides a modern site where hundreds of animal science and crop science
students gain hands-on learning experiences each year. The unit also
provides a site for problem-solving research and extension efforts aimed
to ensure an economically and environmentally sound future for the state’s
beef cattle industry, which generates about $228 million in cash receipts
annually.
“This dedication represents
a great step forward for the university, the opening of a modern site
where students can gain learning that prepares them for what they will
encounter in careers in agricultural and life sciences,” Oblinger
said. “This new Beef Education Unit also brings us one step closer
to our goal of having a single site, close to the campus for many of
the teaching dimensions of our agricultural field laboratories —
a site that’s convenient for students and encourages relevant interdisciplinary
efforts to advance agriculture.”
The unit replaces an outdated
facility at Reedy Creek Road, where encroaching urban development made
it difficult to operate effectively. The new unit was funded with $1.5
million from the university higher education bonds.
“Thanks to the support
of the North Carolina General Assembly and the voters of North Carolina,
we are able to replace that [previous] unit with the modern facility
you see here,” said Fox. “It’s a new unit that features
state-of-the-art teaching facilities as well as freshly planted pastures
for our Angus and polled Hereford herds.”
Fox added that the new facility
plays a vital role in a number of academic programs, such as those in
the College of Veterinary Medicine,
as well as research efforts important to beef cattle production, including
waste management, nutrition, reproduction, genetics, biosecurity and
pasture land ecology.
The unit will likewise serve
as a site for 4-H
and FFA events that bring hundreds
of young people to campus each year for educational opportunities involving
animals, she said.
“Our College and university
recognize the importance of partnerships as we pursue our land-grant
mission,” said Oblinger, as the ribbon-cutting commenced. “This
facility shows what we can accomplish when we work together.”
—Terri
Leith
