Day 9: Hill Farm Research Station 

Written by: Andi

Today our crew visited the LSU Hill Farm Research Station. It was built in 1946 and was originally used as a dairy facility for mastitis research. Over the years, it grew to become one of the most accredited mastitis research facilities in the country. Unfortunately, the dairy eventually shut down because of the rising costs of raising dairy cattle. It became more cost-effective to ship the cattle to Texas to be fed there.

Today, the facility focuses on forestry, beef cattle, and poultry research. They have around 300 head of beef cattle and over 900 acres of land dedicated to research! Their herd is mainly Angus and Brangus, with all of their cattle having some Brahman influence because of the breed’s heat tolerance.

One of the most interesting research projects they conduct is on heat stress in cattle. They study pregnant cows exposed to heat stress and the effects it has on their calves. Their research has shown that calves born to heat-stressed cows are typically around 10 pounds lighter at birth and weigh about 40 pounds less at weaning than calves from cows that were not heat stressed.

We also learned about their Geaux Beef: Heifer Developer Program, where cattle producers can send their heifers to be developed and artificially inseminated. They also offer classes that teach producers how to AI cattle, pregnancy check, and ultrasound cattle. These programs have been a huge resource for local producers and veterinarians by helping more people learn these valuable skills.

Lastly, we toured their poultry facility, where they raise chickens for a local processor, Raeford Farms, which we had the opportunity to visit later that day! This was such a cool experience, and it was so interesting to learn about the differences between Louisiana and Florida agriculture. Thank you for having us!