Location: Food Systems Research Unit
Project Number: 8090-10700-001-007-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2025
End Date: Aug 31, 2026
Objective:
The Agency and the Cooperator seek to establish animal and field crop research at a new research site in Charlotte, Vermont. The site includes 400 acres of cropland, pasture, and woodlands, which the Agency and the Cooperator plan to use for conducting research on integrated crop and livestock systems. Access to the site was acquired though a long-term lease agreement in 2024, and the site has not previously been used for conducting research by either the Agency or the Cooperator.
Agency scientists plan to conduct research with cattle to understand (1) how the presence of a “teacher cow” influences the behavior, productivity, and performance of calves in beef-on-dairy systems (crossbred calves born to dairy cows) and (2) how breed and feed influences the feed efficiency, productivity, and meat quality of different breeds of cattle raised for meat. Agency scientists also plan to study the productivity, quality, and inter-annual variability of forage crop systems at the site. The primary purpose of this agreement is to establish research planned by Agency scientists. The Agency and the Cooperator expect to conduct additional research collaboratively once the capacity to care for research animals and to manage cropping systems research is established at the site.
The Cooperator will care for research animals at the site and provide oversight through the Cooperator’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The Cooperator will also manage the field crop trials and non-research cropland at the site. The purpose of this agreement is to provide resources to hire personnel and to purchase supplies, materials, and equipment necessary for the proper care and handling of research animals and for the management of field crop research.
Approach:
The Agency and the Cooperator will collaborate to create a new research site, the Northeast Crop and Livestock Research Station. The site is part of a privately owned property known locally as “Nordic Farm.” The property has long been used for agricultural purposes, principally dairy, but has not previously been used for research. The Cooperator has access to 400 acres of land and to several buildings on the property through a 30-year lease agreement with the owners, and the Agency subleases this land and building space from the Cooperator. Improvements necessary to either the buildings or the land for the purposes of safely and properly conducting animal research will be managed through the lease and sublease agreements.
Care of research animals will be provided by the Cooperator in coordination with the university’s Office of Animal Care Management. The site at Nordic Farm is new, and additional staff will be needed to care for the animals. Staffing needs to be sufficient to provide year-round care for approximately 40 beef cattle for study one (teacher cow study) and an additional 100 cattle for study two (breed and feed study). Management of field crop research and non-research cropland will be provided by the Cooperator in coordination with the Agency scientists.
Equipment essential for handling and caring for animals and for the management of crops will need to be acquired for the site. This includes equipment used to mix and deliver feed, to move and pile manure, to manage animals, to provide temporary shelter for grazing animals, and any other needs directly in support of animal care or the specific research planned herein. This equipment will be purchased by the Cooperator if it is not already available and cannot be provided by the Agency.
Supplies and materials essential for the handling and caring of animals and for safely conducting animal research must also be acquired for the site. This includes supplies for livestock watering, for fencing paddocks and pastures, and for feeding animals. It also includes supplies and materials to keep animal care personnel safe, such as personal protective equipment, as well as any other needs directly in support of animal care or the specific research planned herein. Supplies and materials needed to support field crop research will generally be purchased by the Agency, unless otherwise specified in this agreement.