The folks working to help out dairy farmers at the Dairy Innovation Hub sure have been busy. Dr. Tera Montgomery, campus liaison for the Dairy Innovation Hub at UW-Platteville joins us to share more about what they do and what they have going on.
The Dairy Innovation Hub is a collaborative effort between UW Madison, Platteville and River Falls campuses. Funding from the state of Wisconsin goes towards research that is specific to the dairy industry. With on campus farms and dairy processing plants, research helps the dairy industry in multiple ways.
The Dairy Innovation Hub has four priority areas for research; ensuring animal health and welfare, stewarding land and water, enriching human health and nutrition, and growing farm businesses and communities. Dr. Montgomery says focusing on these priorities helps the dairy industry beyond just focusing on increasing milk production.
With an on campus herd, with just around 180 milking cows, the UWP- Pioneer Farm is able to focus research on smaller herds, filling a need with both robotic and parlor milking opportunities. The dairy pilot plant allows research to be done for farms who may want to develop products and diversify their farm income. And beyond just food products, research going on includes using milk and byproducts in non-food products.
For farmers who are looking to learn more or work with the Dairy Innovation Hub, more information is available on their website dairyinnovationhub.wisc.edu/
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