Northeast Iowa Dairy Farm

Location

Winneshiek County

Northeast Iowa Community College
PO Box 400
Calmar, IA 52132

(563) 534-9957, toll free: (866) 474-4692

Size

400 acres (includes 200 leased acres)

Owners

Northeast Iowa Community-Based Dairy Foundation

In the heart of northeast Iowa’s dairy country, the Dairy Center is the site of dairy classes, adult education, demonstrations and research.

Plans

The Northeast Iowa Community-Based Dairy Foundation was formed in 1999 to enhance the dairy industry in northeast Iowa through education and research. The farm is milking 280 cows.

Soils

Soils of the region consist of narrow ridges and moderate to steep sideslopes of the Fayette soil association.

Research and Demonstration

Two kinds of milking parlors and four manure-handling systems are used for demonstrations. Animal-management demonstrations also are conducted. Research conducted at the facility varies and has included composting mortalities, a corn silage test plot and various animal disease prevention and milking studies.

Facilities

The facilities consist of an eight-stall herringbone parlor, an eight-stall parallel parlor, a 144-stall free-stall barn and a 30-stall free-stall special needs barn with three-bedded maternity pens. At the grazing center the cows are milked in a swing-eight parlor and housed in a compost-bedded pack barn.