Several members of the agriculture community said they were still concerned about the future of the ISU Dairy Farm, despite comments made by Catherine Woteki, dean of the College of Agriculture, at a public forum Thursday.

Woteki opened the meeting, held in Waverly at the Red Fox Inn, Highway 3 West, by telling the audience of 20 to 30 people about the new proposed dairy farm.

“The farm is in the development stages,” Woteki said. “It will be south of Ames, about 15 minutes, and a committee has been formed to tell [the College of Agriculture] what the new farm will need.”

The new farm will include the capacity for 500 cows, a tie stall barn for calf research, research and teaching facilities, several milking stalls and a livestock pavilion, Woteki said.

“The college’s expectation is to have the farm completed in three years,” Woteki said. “The timeline of the new farm depends on the sale of the Ankeny farm. The reason why [the College of Agriculture representatives] are here is to get broad comment from Iowa’s dairy farmers about the future of the College of Agriculture and Iowa State’s dairy science program.”

Woteki said the dairy farm is in debt because of location; the farm and its equipment are outdated and state paid employees who get paid more than student employees.

“What most people don’t know is that the present dairy farm is in the red $180,000 this year,” she said. The closure of the farm is one of many consequences of budget cuts, Woteki said.

“The College of Agriculture will have to make substantial changes to its operations because of the budget cuts, and unfortunately, closing the dairy farm is one of them,” Woteki said.

Kathy Stammeyer, mother of Rachel Stammeyer, senior in dairy science, asked what would happen to the 30 workers and students at the current farm.

Woteki said the college is still unsure and is in the process of deciding.

Farm efficiency and students are the main concerns about the closure of the dairy farm, said Douglas Kenealy, professor of animal science.

“Downsizing would make the farm less efficient than it already is,” Kenealy said. “We are concerned about what the closing will do to students as well. We don’t want their time to be longer here because of this transition period.”

The committee in charge of the new dairy farm development includes Kenealy; Mark Honeyman, Iowa State research farm associate professor; Lee Kilmer, professor of animal science; Robert Holland, professor and chair of veterinarian diagnostic and animal medical production; Susan Lamont, professor and chair of animal science; Leo Tims, associate professor of animal science; and Mike Castor, Iowa State research farm staff from Kilmer.

Seventy-five adult cows and 75 young calves will be sold from the Iowa State Dairy Farm in the fall, Kenealy said. Temporary buildings will be set up on the Ankeny farm to hold the 300 cows expected to reside there, he said.

“We want to keep the genetic lines that we have intact,” Kenealy said.

Woteki said agriculture accounts for 24.8 percent of Iowa’s economy, and the public and university should focus on this.

“The future of this state is in agriculture, but unfortunately, Iowa’s legislatures don’t see this,” said David Neil, a member of the Iowa Board of Regents. “Their mindset needs to be changed. Until the mindset is changed in this state, higher education is in trouble.”

Brent Hall, deputy secretary of agriculture for the state, said he liked what he heard at the forum.

“There are concerns about the growth of dairy education in the state and people need to look to the future,” Hall said. “I’m a farmer myself and know all about budget cuts. People just need to realize that with public support and interest, Iowa State’s agriculture program will continue on.”

Some parents questioned whether their children’s tuition could be used directly toward the College of Agriculture’s budget to alleviate current funding problems. Neil said he would look into it for the parents.

Not all attendees were content with the forum.

“I think what they told us today is a whole bunch of fluff,” Stammeyer said.

Stammeyer’s daughter receives the funding for tuition from working at the dairy farm, she said. She said she didn’t believe this meeting would have changed the current situation.

“I think basically they have already made up their mind and to hell with everyone else,” she said.

Hall said he was satisfied with what he heard and knows that there are concerns. He and Patty Judge, secretary of agriculture for the state, talked with Vilsack about the budget and their concerns, he said.

“This is a big deal for us because ISU has been there for us,” Hall said.

Woteki said she thought the meeting went well.

“I think there was good, constructive talk today,” Woteki said. “I was surprised by the attendance of Neil and Hall. We’re trying to keep the public informed on the decision we will have to make.”