West Texas A&M University (WT) has been awarded a $9.75 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to help build a Center for Beef Cattle Research and Innovation, the largest federal grant in the university's history, Farms.com reports. With matching money from The Texas A&M University System and industry partners, the project totals $19.5 million.
The centre will have 90 research pens for scientific studies and 45 commercial-scale pens that mirror modern feedlots, so ideas can be tested and then checked under real production conditions. It will also include a veterinary care and research hospital, a feed and production centre and a metabolism and physiology centre, and will use technologies including artificial intelligence tools to evaluate feeding strategies, management practices and health monitoring systems.
"The A&M System is investing $4.875 million because research that strengthens Texas agriculture also serves the state and the nation," said Robert Albritton, chairman of the system's Board of Regents. Interim president Dr Neil Terry said the grant and donor support "underscore the critical role the Texas Panhandle plays in the beef cattle industry."
Construction began near WT's Nance Ranch in 2025, alongside a separate feedlot education facility. Undergraduate, graduate and veterinary students will work with researchers and industry, and the university expects the findings to help cattle feeders across the United States improve health, nutrition, handling and feed efficiency.
Photo: Billy Hathorn / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Farms.com
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