Public gets look at pigs' new digs

By Megan Kavanagh

Swine Unit Manager

On June 12, the NDSU Swine Research and Teaching Center opened its doors to more than 75 guests to celebrate the completion of its expansion. Guests included stakeholders, NDSU staff and faculty, students and faculty from South Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, plus industry partners of the unit including Topigs Norsvin and Comparts Boar Store.

The field day was planned by swine unit manager Megan Kavanagh and included an open house, lunch provided by NDSU’s Carnivore Catering, research presentations, guided tours and a family hour for kids and community members. Presentations during the event were given by Megan as well as Dr. Chris Byrd; Jenn Young, swine research technician; Dr. Sheela Ramamoorthy; Dr. Eric Berg; and recent M.S. graduate Keara Leong-Machielse. These presentations highlighted swine teaching and recently conducted research at the original facility.

The NDSU Swine Unit expansion adds 600-head finishing space which is split into two rooms, one that holds 400 head and one that holds 200 head. The barn also has a new loadout that is capable of loading pigs directly onto a semi-trailer, a feature the original barn did not have! Along with the new loadout and additional finishing space, the expansion offers a new classroom that can seat up to 40 students and includes technology for virtual learning or remote lecturing. The barn’s expansion wouldn’t have been possible without generous donations from the North Dakota Corn Council, North Dakota Soybean Council and North Dakota Farmers Union.

During the event, the NDSU swine team enjoyed good questions and conversation about swine production and its growth in the state. We are grateful to our NDSU community and industry partners for their support on this project. We look forward to the facility’s growth and all the teaching and research opportunities that can come from it.