News Release
For Immediate Release — June 4, 2009
University of Tennessee and State Government Officials Announce
One-Year Delay in Moving Lewisburg Jersey Herd
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The UT Institute of Agriculture, state Senator Bill Ketron and state Representative Eddie Bass have announced a one-year delay in moving the Jersey dairy herd from the Dairy Research and Education Center in Lewisburg, Tennessee, to the Middle Tennessee Research and Education Center in Spring Hill. During that time the officials will continue to work together, along with Marshall County Commission and Mayor Joe Liggett, to find other options.
Federal stimulus funds have allowed the delay, and the Research and Education Centers in Lewisburg and Spring Hill will continue to operate for the next fiscal year as they do today. However, transition and consolidation of the Middle Tennessee dairies will occur during the second year to deal with budget reductions. The delay will allow additional time for a thorough evaluation of the nutrient management plans for both locations and to obtain additional public input and comment.
“We have appreciated being able to work with Senator Ketron, Representative Bass, Mayor Liggett and the Marshall County Commission, to discuss our needs at the Center in Lewisburg,” Dr. Joseph DiPietro, UT vice president for agriculture said. “We are very happy that we could delay the move, but eventually we may have no choice but to consolidate our dairy programs.”
By fiscal year 2012 when the federal stimulus money runs out, the UT AgResearch budget will be 9 percent ($2.1 million) less than it is in the current fiscal year, and DiPietro said AgResearch will be forced to have only two dairy facilities serving Tennessee’s dairy industry. The budget reductions are necessitating a review of all Institute of Agriculture operations. Other units of the Institute, including the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and Extension will be dealing with additional cuts in state support totaling $5 million, for a total of more than $7 million in reductions for the entire Institute of Agriculture. No part of the Institute will be spared dealing with the reductions, DiPietro indicated.
“I want to thank Dr. Joe DiPietro and the University of Tennessee for listening to the concerns of the citizens of Marshall County regarding the Jersey herd in Lewisburg,” Senator Bill Ketron said. “Their open-minded approach of working with the National Jersey Association in a business-partner relationship may provide opportunity for a profitable future with our Dairy Research Center.”
"Dr Joe DiPietro and The University of Tennessee are to be commended for revisiting the topic of closing the dairy experiment station in Lewisburg and their decision to keep the jersey herd in Marshall County, as we all have realized the station is not only an icon in our community but is also a great boost to the local economy,” Representative Eddie Bass said. “I would also like to thank Mayor Joe Liggett, the County Commission and others too numerous to mention for all the hard work done in keeping the herd in Marshall Co. We must work as a team to demonstrate to the University of Tennessee that the herd will be an asset not only to Marshall County but also the University."
The Institute of Agriculture has a strong commitment to the dairy producers in Tennessee and intends to meet the research and educational needs of the state’s dairy industry with one dairy in East Tennessee, in close proximity to Institute faculty and students for education and research programs, and another in Middle Tennessee. In recent history UT AgResearch has operated three dairies—two in Middle Tennessee and one in East Tennessee. Very few land-grant institutions across the country have even two university dairies.
“We are hopeful that through discussions and partnerships with interested parties, we might be able to locate funding sources that would allow us to pursue alternatives for the Lewisburg herd,” DiPietro said. “The stimulus money gives us a year to work together on that, but absent such a solution, the consolidation will have to occur.”
DiPietro and Dean of AgResearch Dr. William Brown appeared before the Marshall County Commission in February to discuss plans for moving the herd and to answer any questions from commissioners or the public. They explained that as part of the overall state budget reductions affecting higher education, the Dairy Research and Education Center would be restructured into a dairy and beef heifer development unit where UT scientists would study animal growth, animal health, stress and reproductive efficiency.
Plans were to co-locate the herd of 140 lactating Jersey cows currently at the Dairy Center with the dairy herd at the nearby Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Spring Hill. All heifers currently at the Dairy Center would remain, and all heifers currently at the Middle Tennessee Center will be moved to Lewisburg. In addition, beef heifers from other Research and Education Centers across Tennessee could be moved to Lewisburg for research projects, and collaborations with Tennessee Livestock Producers would be established for beef heifer development projects.
Budget savings resulting from the move would be approximately $370,000 annually.
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Contacts:
Lorna Norwood, UT Institute of Agriculture Director of Marketing and Communications, 865-974-7141; 865-548-4122 or lorna@tennessee.edu
Senator Bill Ketron, 615-741-6853,
Representative Eddie Bass, 615-741-1864