Michigan State University board to consider buying 92 acres near Holt

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Michigan State University board to consider buying 92 acres near Holt

LANSING — Michigan State University trustees are set to vote on buying land in Alaiedon Township to support the Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center after a 260-acre purchase in southern Ingham County fell through.

The trustees will decide Friday whether to purchase 92 acres 3 miles off campus at Willoughby Road and alongside US-27. The land is east of Holt.

MSU has made significant investments into its Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Facility, beginning with the board approving $75 million for a new and renovated space. The facility plans to expand its existing herd by 460 cows, but currently doesn’t have the space to feed all of them.

The herd size expansion is needed to meet modern needs for teaching that align with the industry’s standards and to address a two year backlog of research, a board resolution states.

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The resolution said the alternative to buying the land is buying feed, but that the volatility of the market and availability of silage, a major feed component, makes the alternative less viable.

The office of real estate at MSU has been monitoring the real estate market for potential farmland acquisition since mid-2023, the resolution said.

The board resolution didn’t include information about how much university would pay for the land, but said it would be paid for from the agricultural land fund.

It’s likely that more land will need to be purchased to support the Dairy Farm’s expansion. The board resolution said the need for future land purchases was previously identified.

It’s not clear why the first land acquisition, approved by the trustees in December 2023 didn’t go through. The board packet explaining the request said that after the board’s vote “the purchase of the property was not completed.”

Barbara Kranz, the assistant provost of MSU’s Office of Institutional Space Planning and Management, referred questions to Director of AgBioResearch George Smith. Smith said he would not comment until after the board votes Friday.

The 260 acres was located about 22 miles south of campus, in Onondaga.

Contact Sarah Atwood at *****@*****.tld. Follow her on X @sarahmatwood.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal:

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