UBC Dairy Education
and Research Centre
Welcome to The University of British Columbia’s Dairy Education and Research Centre!
Our teaching and research facility allows for cutting-edge science with real-world application. Located in the heart of British Columbia farm country––and with its own working herd of 500 cattle––our faculty, students and partners have been investigating and pioneering solutions since 1997.
Dairy Statistics
48
The Dairy Education and Research Centre is part of UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems, which placed 48 out of 500 institutions globally and second overall in Canada in the Agricultural Sciences category (2023 Academic Ranking of World Universities).
710
Total publications listed on Google Scholar over the last decade, from the research laboratories led by principal researchers affiliated with the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre (Drs. Ronaldo Cerri, Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk, and Daniel Weary).
8,500
Our herd of approximately 240 lactating dairy cows produces an average of 8,500 litres of milk a day.
38
In the 2025 QS World University Rankings, UBC placed 38th overall out of 1,503 institutions around the globe.
Positive Impacts
The UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre continually strives to support research that identifies practical solutions and contributes to best practices in dairy management, most notably on topics centred around reproduction and animal welfare.
The Dairy Centre is a living laboratory that takes a two-pronged research approach in order to contribute to positive change in animal care and management practices on dairy farms in British Columbia, across Canada and around the world.
The first prong focuses on work undertaken directly at the Dairy Centre, where the design of the facility allows for the undertaking of controlled research studies. The second prong moves the findings from the experimental work done at the research farm to the working farm.
By taking a living laboratory approach and collecting data on commercial farms using epidemiological approaches and social science methods, such as interviews and focus groups, we facilitate the collection of data but also include the voice of the farmers in the research. The Dairy Centre has, and continues to play, a positive role in continuous improvement in dairy cattle management on dairy farms.
Mission/Vision
An innovative and state-of-the-art research centre
The UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre conducts research with the goal of developing innovative practices to improve animal welfare and health and reproduction.
As one of the world’s leading universities, UBC’s vision is to create an exceptional learning environment that fosters global citizenship, advances a civil and sustainable society, and supports outstanding research to serve the people of British Columbia, Canada, and the world.
