Excitement is buzzing at Lakeland with the upcoming opening of one of the most advanced dairy training facilities in Canada.

“We’re excited to unveil our new Dairy Learning Centre to industry and the community,” says Josie Van Lent, dean of Lakeland’s School of Agricultural Sciences.

Lakeland will welcome local and provincial dignitaries, representatives from Alberta Milk, dairy producers, alumni, and friends of the college on Tuesday, Aug. 22 at the Vermilion campus for the official opening. A program and ribbon cutting will take place at 2 p.m. followed by tours of the 47,000 sq. ft. facility.

The training centre features a traditional milking parlour and a robotic milking system, which will be utilized by Lakeland students as well as industry. With input from industry partners, advisory committees, students, staff and alumni, the facility’s design focuses on cow comfort for higher output production, animal care and safety, and transition cow management.

“Our partnership with industry was an integral piece to the development of this state-of-the-art learning facility,” says Van Lent. “Alberta Milk has been a key contributor to the project because of their design input and generous contributions.”

Along with providing the use of additional milk quota so Lakeland could expand its herd, Alberta Milk provided funds from the Government of Alberta Growing Forward 2 grant to incorporate energy efficient systems and design in the facility, future courses and training opportunities.

Lakeland also received funding from the federal government through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund.