LINCOLN, NE. —The next generation of feedlot design and operation will be among the developments in sustainable beef production when a groundbreaking $7.2 million Feedlot Innovation Center comes on line.
Featuring a complex with cattle comfort and research buildings, a feed technology facility, innovative open lots and an animal handling facility, the Feedlot Innovation Center will serve as a testbed for new and emerging technologies. Located at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Eastern Research, Extension and Education Center, near Meade, NE, industry partners, ag-tech startups, producers and others can use the facility’s capabilities as a proving ground for new products.
“The Feedlot Innovation Center presents an incredible opportunity to bring together industry partners, cattle producers and UNL researchers and students to advance sustainable beef production,” says Mike Boehm, Harlan Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) and the University of Nebraska vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
The facility will include commercial-scale open air and covered pens, allowing researchers to improve cattle performance and environmental impact in varied settings. It will also include a 240-head feeding facility that will allow researchers to use precision techniques to study the outcomes of various feeding protocols, measure emissions and study the various uses for precision feeding technology already on the market.
The center will allow for expanded research of the impact of low-stress animal handling and increased emphasis on animal welfare. A new cattle handling facility and enclosed classroom will give students hands-on experience and allow for training opportunities for Nebraska’s beef industry workforce.
With an estimated cost of $7.2 million, funding for the Feedlot Innovation Center is ongoing. UNL has received support from JBS USA, which donated $700,000 toward the center. Greater Omaha Packing Co. also gifted $700,000, and in recognition, UNL will name the center’s animal handling and instructional classroom building after the company.
The facility will officially be named the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center, in honor of John and Beth Klosterman of David City, who are longtime supporters of both the university and its Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and who gave $500,000 toward the project.
