20 NEBRASKA CATTLEMAN August 2024 The University of Nebraska held a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 27 marking the completion of the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center. The new facility, located at the Eastern Nebraska Research, Extension and Education Center near Mead, will pave the way for world-class research projects, and teaching and Extension opportunities in a commercial-scale, state-of-the-art feedlot. The facility is named in honor of the late John Klosterman and his wife, Beth, of David City. The Klosterman family represents five generations of cattle feeding in Nebraska. The $7.2 million facility received $5.5 million in private support through the University of Nebraska Foundation. In addition to the Klostermans, other lead donors to the project include JBS USA, Greater Omaha Packing Co. Inc., Farm Credit Services of America, and Dennis and Glenda Boesiger. The new facility is among the largest research feedlots in the world and is designed to present unique opportunities for teaching, outreach and public-private partnerships. The center includes commercial-scale, open-air and covered pens, allowing researchers to improve the performance and environmental impact of cattle in varied settings. It also boasts a 240-head feeding facility that will allow researchers to use precision techniques to study the outcomes of various feeding protocols, measure emissions and study the various uses for precision-feeding technology already on the market. The center allows for expanded research of the impact of low-stress animal handling and increased emphasis on animal welfare, with state-of-the-art equipment donated by Daniels Manufacturing and Arrowquip, two leading animal- handling equipment companies. An enclosed classroom will give students hands-on experience and allow for training opportunities for Nebraska’s beef industry workforce. The facility will also serve as an innovation laboratory, that industry partners, ag-tech startups, producers and others can use. Numerous industry partners have already made in-kind donations of equipment, and in the future, the center will provide opportunities for ag-tech companies, equipment manufacturers and other companies to test new products in a commercial-scale facility, as well as for cattle feeders to observe how these products work. Additional philanthropic support came from the Terry Klopfenstein Fund, which included gifts from 53 alumni, colleagues and industry partners who knew and worked with the late Terry Klopfenstein. Klopfenstein was a longtime leader of the university’s ruminant nutrition program and a pioneer in using byproducts from the ethanol and sweetener industries to supplement cattle feeding. One of the buildings in the complex will be named the Terry Klopfenstein Feed Technology Center, pending formal approval. The new center will be a key component of the university’s Beef Innovation Hub, which aims to advance, support and communicate continuous improvement of beef production, economic vitality and natural resources stewardship through innovative research, education and extension. Cattle will arrive in the facility later this summer, with research projects, classes, tours and other learning opportunities to be offered shortly after. Nebraska Celebrates Feedlot Research, Teaching, Extension Center Cara Pesek | IANR Media UNL has a long and proud history of research, outreach and teaching students in the beef systems area. Our legacy is to research applied problems and provide results that are repeatable. Having a new, commercially scaled research operation with different housing systems will only enhance our programming in research, Extension and teaching. We will continue to be good stewards of the investment that donors, supporters and the state makes in programming to benefit our great state and our beef industry. As always, let us know if we can address your questions. If anyone would like to visit and learn more about the Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or your local Extension educator. ~NC~ The Klosterman Feedlot Innovation Center features several state-of-theart technologies that allow for advanced research. The RIC 2 Discover system, where RIC stands for roughage intake control, consists of an open feeding trough with an electronic system linked to advanced management software. KLOSTERMAN FEEDLOT INNOVATION CENTER UPDATE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18
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