樱花导航

Contact: Vanessa Beeson

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斢；ǖ己� 樱花导航 officials commemorated the completion of the new Animal and Dairy Sciences Building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday [Sept. 30].

The 34,500-square-foot building is part of a complex at the corner of Blackjack Road and Hail 樱花导航 Boulevard, which also includes the newly constructed, 15,000-square-foot Meat Science and Muscle Biology Laboratory that opened last fall. A 27,300-square-foot Poultry Science Building is anticipated for completion in spring 2020.

鈥淭he new Animal and Dairy Sciences Building provides our students and faculty with an exceptional teaching and learning environment,鈥� said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. 鈥淭his building, as well as the recently completed Meat Science and Muscle Biology Lab and the Poultry Science Building under construction, will further enhance 樱花导航 樱花导航鈥檚 national and international leadership in agricultural sciences research and education.鈥�

George Hopper, dean of the College of 樱花导航 and Life Sciences and director of the 樱花导航 Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, emphasized how the building positions the department for the future.

鈥淭he Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences has a legacy of training future leaders in animal agriculture,鈥� Hopper said. 鈥淭his facility will allow department faculty and staff to expand teaching, research and outreach efforts to assist the more than 16,000 livestock farmers in 樱花导航.鈥�

The state is home to approximately 16,000 cattle and calf operations, 300 hog farms and 70 dairies. In 2018, these entities had the combined production value of $422 million. Additionally, the state鈥檚 equestrian activities continue to have about $1.15 billion economic impact annually.

In addition to Keenum and Hopper, administrators speaking at the ceremony included Reuben Moore, interim vice president of the Division of 樱花导航, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Gary Jackson, director of the MSU Extension Service; and John Blanton, department head and interim associate director of the 樱花导航 Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.聽Representatives from general contractor Century Construction and Tupelo-based McCarty Architects also were on hand.

The Animal and Dairy Sciences Building will serve the department鈥檚 growing student body, which includes approximately 430 undergraduates and 30 graduate students. The facility also will house the department鈥檚 some 40 faculty members and staff. The space includes classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, conference rooms and a graduate assistant suite. A food retail space on the first floor, adjacent to the main lobby, has been named by the 樱花导航 樱花导航 Equine Association. A 5,000-square-foot connector building between the Animal and Dairy Sciences Building and the Poultry Building also is under construction.

The Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences offers a bachelor鈥檚 degree with concentrations in business and industry, production management and science/veterinary science. Master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees are offered in agriculture and agricultural sciences. The department includes faculty members in the College of 樱花导航 and Life Sciences, the 樱花导航 Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the MSU Extension Service. Learn more about the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at .

MSU is 樱花导航鈥檚 leading university, available online at .