Operations
The UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre is a campus-like complex of state-of-the-art equipment and purpose-built facilities. With our own herd of cows and a collaborative team of faculty, staff and students, we are proud to be a part of the BC Milk Producers community supplying milk to Canadian consumers.
Automated Milking Systems (AMS)
Demonstrating a commitment to a technology-driven future, the Dairy Centre is North America’s largest automated milking research facility. Operational as of July 2023, our six automated milking systems (plus one training unit) is responsible for the daily harvesting of the milk from our 245 lactating dairy cows. This technology supports data streams on the number of visits, the duration of each visit, and associated information on milk volumes for each individual cow in our herd.
Animal Care Committee
We are dedicated to the welfare of the cattle living at our facility. As such, we operate under the strict procedures and protocols of UBC’s Animal Care Committee, which safeguards the treatment of animals involved in study-based university programs.
Read more about our governance of research and standard operating procedures here.
Local Supplier
Our state-of-the-art dairy operation enables us to milk approximately 250 cows every day! We also host training courses and information sessions for local producers and welcome school groups and the public to our facilities.
Working Herd
Our hands-on team of faculty, staff and students operates alongside a working herd of more than 500 cows. This practical proximity enables us to directly study the underlying science behind cattle life, while also ensuring our industry solutions work efficiently and productively with real-world dairy animals.
