Facilities & Centers: Beef Operations

The Beef Center

The Beef Center (completed in 2006) conjoins classroom teaching with beef production and research. The facility supports new technologies for teaching and researching embryo transfer and artificial insemination; is the site for Cal Poly’s heifer development program and annual Bull Test (put on by the Bull Test Enterprise); and provides the facilities for industry to co-sponsor educational workshops and research projects. The beef center includes 8 lay-up pens for heifer development and health management, 10 stalls designed for breeding and embryo transfer activities, 7 three-acre paddocks for performance testing bulls involved in the Bull Test, and a student residence.

The Beef Cattle Evaluation Center

The Beef Cattle Evaluation Center is used for both applied feedlot research projects and progeny testing of cattle. The facility is also used for heifer development and lab instruction because of its ideal on-campus location. In the near future, the Beef Cattle Evaluation Center will also be the site of feeding operations for the new Meat Processing Center.

Parker Barn

Parker Barn provides the facilities for first-calf heifers to calve out each fall. Commercial and purebred heifers, managed by students on the Heifer Calving Enterprise, are brought to Parker Barn in August and stay until late October. The barn is surrounded by three pastures, allowing for students to group cattle according to calving date.