Iowa State’s buildings are used for everything from lectures to hockey games, but the newly completed National Swine Research Center has been sitting empty since the end of spring 1998.

The building, located just west of the National Soil Tilth Laboratory, was constructed by the federal government at a cost of $9 million with the intent of providing a facility for researching hog production problems like odor, water quality and worker safety, said David Topel, dean of agriculture.

“The purpose of the building is to establish research programs for environmental issues concerning hog production,” he said.

Topel said the research center will be used by both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and ISU in a cooperative partnership. It is connected to the Soil Tilth Lab because there will also be research done involving hog production and its effects on the soil.

The research center was built by the USDA, but Iowa State holds the deed because the building is on university land. The current plan of action is that the university will lease the building to the USDA, whereby the USDA will be paying for all of the center’s utility bills and expenses, Topel said.

Stuart Hadley, associate director of governmental relations, said the USDA has until Dec. 31, 1998 to decide if it will be permanently involved in this project.

Topel said work has not begun at the center because the federal budget, which would provide funding for the research, has not been signed by President Clinton yet.

“We’re hoping that if President Clinton signs the budget, then this would be a boost for getting support for this research,” Topel said.

Topel said he believes ISU went through the normal process for receiving government funding, and that once the federal budget is passed, Congress will be able to pass the budget on funding for this research facility.

Once that happens, the research cooperative can begin and the building will be put to use.

“We’re being very cautious, because we were hoping it would already be operational by now, but hopefully in the next few months it will be,” Topel said.

He said once research has begun, there will be many opportunities for ISU graduate and undergraduate students, as well as high school interns, to become involved.

Topel concluded his comments on the new Swine Research Center on a positive note.

“It’s a beautiful facility, and there are a lot of people who are very excited to get in there and start working,” he said.