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 Both tours were very informative. The University has 3 Research
Centers: the Beef Research Farm, located 5 miles south of the
UIUC Campus; the Orr Agricultural Research Center in Pike
County; and Dixon Springs Agricultural Center. All calves end up
coming to Champaign to finish out.
The Beef Research Farm in Champaign has both pasture land and
feedlots for more intensive research. They raise 150 head of
cattle: Angus, Simmental, and Sim-Angus. They also have 50 head
of sheep. The Research Farm provides Animal Science students
hands-on experience.
Their feedlots pens use GrowSafe technology to monitor daily
intake of feed and water for each head of cattle. New baby
calves as well as older cows and calves are monitored in other
barns.
In the afternoon, we toured the Veterinary College with the help
of a Sophomore Vet student. She is one of 140 students in her
class studying to be a future Vet in a mixed animal clinic. The
Veterinary College/Hospital has two wings – Large Animal Clinic
and Small Animal Clinic.
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The Large Animal Clinic was working on several horses
and one cow during our tour; the Small Animal side had dogs and
cats. Each Clinic has X-rays CTI scans, MRI units and other advanced
equipment to fit large and small animals. We looked through the
Surgical Room window on the Small Animal side to see a surgery in
action and saw many other classrooms, pharmacies, and aspects of the
college.
These tours were just a couple of the many tours taken by Heartland
Beef Alliance over the past year. We’ve experienced and learned a
lot, had lots of fun, and become more aware of our Beef Industry.
[Diane Lindgren, Secretary/Treasurer
Heartland Beef Alliance]
The Heartland Beef Allaince is made up
opf members from Logan, Mason and Tazewell Counties whose mission is
to promote family and youth livestock activities.
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