Swine Research and Teaching Center expansion enhances NDSU research opportunities

NDSU recently celebrated the renovation and expansion of its Swine Research and Teaching Center and showcased the enhanced research and educational opportunities it will provide for students and researchers.

The NDSU Foundation led a four-year fundraising effort to support a 600-head expansion barn and 50-seat classroom, both additions to the existing swine facility.

“We’re excited to be able to conduct studies in a modern facility at a scale that results in meaningful discoveries for producers and the pigs under their care,” said NDSU associate professor Christopher Byrd, who specializes in swine research.

“This facility represents a major step forward in our ability to conduct industry-relevant research and prepare the next generation of agricultural leaders,” said Greg Lardy, Joe and Norma Peltier Vice President for Agriculture at NDSU. “By expanding our capacity and modernizing our infrastructure, we are better positioned to support producers, advance animal agriculture, and drive innovation in the region.”

The original facility was built in the early 1980s. In 2019, renovations modernized portions of the facility, including converting the gestation space from individual sow stall housing to a group housing system.

After that renovation, Byrd said there was no classroom available for hands-on instruction, and pigs could not be loaded onto a semi without being transported in small groups to another facility. There was also a shortage of grow-finish space, which is the amount of floor area each growing and finishing pig requires inside a barn.

“At that time, we had plenty of gestation and farrowing space, but we did not have enough grow-finish space to fully utilize the renovations completed in 2019,” Byrd said. “Without the extra grow-finish space, we struggled to provide meaningful teaching and research on an industry-relevant scale.”

Talks about further expanding the NDSU Swine Research and Teaching Center gained momentum in 2023. Interim Associate Director of NDSU Extension Guillermo Scaglia, who was the head of NDSU’s animal sciences program at the time, provided primary leadership for the expansion, which included forming a committee with NDSU swine research staff to develop a plan for equipment and infrastructure needs.

“Investments in research infrastructure will improve the competitiveness of North Dakota producers while generating innovations with national applicability,” Scaglia said in the plan. “Research conducted in the expanded facility is expected to produce measurable economic benefits through improvements in feed efficiency, animal health, reproductive performance, environmental management, and labor efficiency.”

The additions to the facility included:

• Two separate grow-finish rooms with capacities of 400 and 200 pigs and large viewing windows to allow visitors to watch the grow-finish spaces.
• Two separate sick pens for sick animal isolation and recovery.
• A large pen scale for weighing groups of pigs (previously, the pigs were weighed individually).
• A dedicated 40-seat classroom with space to house small groups of pigs for demonstration needs.
• A load-out area to support small bumper pull-style trailers and semi-truck trailers for transporting pigs to other university events or processing facilities that allow pigs to be loaded directly into a semi-trailer.

The NDSU Foundation led the fundraising effort for the facility's expansion, with the North Dakota Corn Utilization Council, the North Dakota Soybean Council, and the North Dakota Farmers Union as principal contributors.

“This expansion provides a major opportunity for students to gain meaningful hands-on experiences so they’re able to handle and care for pigs,” Byrd said. “Additionally, exposure to the expansion allows students the opportunity to apply their knowledge learned in the classroom to the challenges of a modern commercial-type facility.”

“My hope is that animal sciences students will leave NDSU with a thorough understanding of commercial swine production and the ability to think critically about how we can improve the ways pigs are fed, housed, and cared for,” he added.

The expansion of the swine facility will not only provide additional research and teaching capabilities but also support swine farmers in the region.

“This facility represents a major step forward in our ability to conduct industry-relevant research and prepare the next generation of agricultural leaders,” Scaglia said. “By expanding our capacity and modernizing our infrastructure, we are better positioned to support producers, advance animal agriculture and drive innovation in the region. The enhanced facility includes state-of-the-art equipment and expanded capacity, allowing researchers and Extension specialists to conduct commercially relevant studies in swine nutrition, production efficiency and animal welfare.”

“The grow-finish expansion allows us to conduct research in an environment that is consistent with modern commercial swine production in the United States,” Byrd said. “Having fully slatted flooring, modern lighting, penning, and exhaust systems will make a major difference in our ability to make relevant research discoveries that will hopefully improve pig performance, health, and welfare.”