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MSU finalizes ag infrastructure investments

Construction will begin next year for the first major facility upgrades in nearly 60 years for some agricultural research facilities at Michigan State University.

AgBioResearch Director George Smith tells Brownfield the infrastructure improvements would not be possible without strong support from industry stakeholders.

“This will be transformational for our plant science research agenda to be able to upgrade our infrastructure,” he shares.

MSU’s Board of Trustees recently finalized plans for the $110 million in renovations planned for the Plant Science Greenhouses and Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center.

“The greenhouse project and the new dairy construction for both will be initiated in the spring and we anticipate that both of these projects will be done probably late fall in 2025,” he explains.

The State of Michigan has provided $53 million to partially fund the upgrades but Smith says more money is still needed.

“We’re going to build the whole thing right out of the gate, and we’re going to do it right,” he says.  “We’ve got to raise some money to make it possible, but we’re working on that.”

Brownfield interviews Smith about how the expansion will impact agricultural research for Michigan and beyond.