Units and Facilities

Photo of a tractor.

Supervisory responsibility for the care of animals on the G.H. Cook Campus is assigned to 'working' supervisors reporting to the Acting Director & Farm Manager (Clint Burgher, M.S.) for the agricultural animals. Responsibility for the laboratory animals is assigned to Laboratory Animal Services . Click here for contact information for each unit.

Main Administrative Office:

The main administrative office for the Animal Care Program is located at:

Bartlett Hall, Room 103
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
84 Lipman Dr.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8525
848-932-9415

Clint Burgher (Acting Director & Farm Manager) has an office in this space along with a central bookkeeping and recording keeping area managed by Peggy Severino as the Program Administrative Assistant.

Equine Unit

Joanne Powell, M.S., LAT, who has two full-time, salaried research animal workers and student help as needed, supervises the equine and cattle unit.

Horses

The number of horses on campus averages around 40 with varying ages and breeds depending upon faculty research, teaching and demonstration needs. There are also 3 horses housed full time as part of the student 'mounted patrol' safety program under the auspices of the Rutgers Police Department.

There are currently 3 cold house barns located within 1 mile of each other housing horses on the G.H. Cook campus. Each has a varying number of stalls and outside pastures with run-in sheds for shelter.

  1. The Ryders Lane Facility has 18 stalls with provisions for equine wash down and a heated employee shower/bath room and a research office for investigators.
  2. The West-Side Red Equine Barn has 14 stalls with provisions for a wash down bay, sink, counter top on concrete slab sampling area and a heated bathroom. The east side has a high-speed equine treadmill and 4 holding stalls and full HVAC controls. In addition there is a full function bench top laboratory and computer room used in support of the physiological exercise studies conduced in this area. Standard operating procedures for Dr. McKeever's equine exercise laboratory are filed with his approved protocol and posted in the barn.
  3. The Student Mounted Patrol Barn has 6 stalls with provisions for wash down and heated break room/office area.

Cattle Unit

There are approximately 75 Holstein dairy replacement heifers housed on campus as part of a commingle herd with the University of Delaware. The dairy replacement heifers vary in age from 4 months through 22 months. The heifers are bred by artificial insemination at the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and transported to the University of Delaware approximately two months prior to calving or 23 months of age.

There are two facilities supporting the cattle within 200 yards of each other.

  1. The Main Dairy Barn is currently under renovation. The old milking wing is being renovated to house young calves from weaning to 6 months of age. Bulk grain, silage and hay are also stored in this building for mixing as a total mixed ration and fed to cattle in this building as well as the heifer barn.
  2. The Heifer Barn is arranged with a feed lane down the center of the barn. The cattle have access to a feed bunk through headlocks in a scrape alley. Beyond the scrape alley, the animals have access to a bedded pack pen. Animals will be housed in groups of 6 in this facility.

Pigs, Sheep, and Goat Unit

Laura Comerford, A.S., LAT, supervises the care of pigs, sheep and goats with two full-time, salaried research animal workers and hourly paid student help. The unit includes small-scale breed programs for all three species (~30 breeding sows, 20 breeding ewes, and 15 breeding goats). Total animals in category with young or under research or teaching protocols equals: 75 pigs, 30 sheep, and 125 goats.

The animals are housed in groups within the following buildings and facilities.

Swine Facilities

  1. Swine Farrowing House
  2. Swine Finishing Deck
  3. Gestating Sow Feeding Platform
  4. Bulk feed mixing facility

Sheep and Goat Facilities

  1. Sheep and Goat Birthing Facility
  2. PSARF Small Mammal Building
  3. PSARF Goat Building I
  4. PSARF Goat Building II
  5. PSARF Solar Shed
  6. PSARF Rear Contest House
  7. PSARF Feed Storage Building
  8. PSARF Brooder Building

Farm Shop and Cropping Unit

Dan Rossi supervises the operations of the farm shop with the help of two salaried research farm workers. Job tasks and responsibilities include facility maintenance, customized research equipment and facility upgrades, machine and equipment repairs, pasture, fencing maintenance and the planting and harvesting of approximately 50 acres of corn silage. Facilities included in this unit are:

  1. The Main Farm shop (aka the Blacksmith Shop)
  2. Hay Drier Storage Shed
  3. Farm Shop Bedding Storage

  1. Rutgers
  2. Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources
  3. School of Environmental and Biological Sciences