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TECHNICIAN
PAGE 3 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2018
Education Center to bring Howling Cow production full circle Mary Dare Martin News Editor
NC State’s dairy industry plans to break ground on the Dairy and Food Education Center this spring, which aims to educate visitors on Howling Cow production from farm to table. NC State’s Feldmeier Dairy Processing lab is housed in Schaub Hall, where all production for Howling Cow milk and ice cream is done. But the Dairy and Food Education Center aims to look inside the entire Howling Cow manufacturing process from beginning to end, starting on NC State’s own dairy farms. Gary Cartwright, the director of the Dairy Enterprise System at NC State, said the education center will be a place for visitors to not only learn about how Howling Cow milk and ice cream is processed, but also how the cows on NC State dairy farms are taken care of and raised. “The culminating component of this is to create a venue for the public to see full circle,” Cartwright said. “How does Howling Cow and milk and ice cream … get processed? What does it take to take care of your animals?” Officially branded in 2007, Howling Cow production has benefited from the growing milk production on the farm. With nearly 300 Holstein and Jersey cows on the farm, Cartwright said NC State’s herds are consistently in the top five for milk production in the state. “I have an incredible respect for dairy farmers the more I learn about them,” Cartwright said. “Incredibly hardworking. Total dedication to what they do. They love their animals and take care of them. It’s a story that isn’t fully
understood by the public so if we can tell the public what every dairy farmer that I’ve ever met seems to do with their cows and how well they take care of them, it’s a good story for us to be telling.” According to Cartwright, the center will contain educational videos, hands-on activities, a cafe and virtual reality experiences. “Envision TV screens that you can walk in,” Cartwright said. “And suddenly you hit a button and you’re amongst the cows or you’re milking animals or you’re watching a calf being born. And it’s around you. We hope to not only put this experiential component in there but be very creative in how we do that.” Along with visits from NC State students, Wake County school groups and the general public, Cartwright said they hope to receive visitors who pass the building while driving on Lake Wheeler Road, where the center will be located. The cafe will feature Howling Cow milk, ice cream and other dairy products, but Cartwright said they’re hoping to have more. “University Dining produces their Yates Mill line of bakery goods that you can buy,” Cartwright said. “We’re hoping that University Dining will supply croissants and muffins and things like that. In that aspect, again, as people come in there, they’re going to learn about NC State.” Another goal of the Dairy and Food Education Center is to educate the public about where the food is coming from. James Edwards, a fourth-year studying biological engineering and international studies and a former student worker on the dairy farm, said that people need to be more knowledgeable about where their
food is coming from. “I consider it to be important for people to know a little bit about where there food comes from or how it’s produced,” Edwards said. “I don’t think the average American really knows anything about that. You have a lot of big corporations producing and manufacturing food and for the majority, that’s it.” GLENN WAGSTAFF/TECHNICIAN Cartwright said Cows graze in a pasture at the NC State dairy farms on Wednesday. that the public not The dairy farm is opening the Dairy and Food Education Center to educate both students and the public about the processes of only needs but also making and distributing Howling Cow products. wants a place to be properly educated about food production and “For Howling Cow specifically, it’s part of NC that a university-based center is an ideal place State’s heritage,” Edwards said. “The dairy farm to learn. actually has a pretty rich history with its cows “They really want to know what’s the truth and how the farm started and where the cows about the food and where it comes from,” came from. For people to be able to see how this Cartwright said. “Today you are bombarded university started as a land-grant university for by information — some of it true, some of it agriculture, is still actually something that’s still false. People want to know what’s real and relevant in the university today.” what’s fake. It’s time for something like this. Cartwright said that the center is planned to The university is like neutral ground. They feel break ground in mid-April and that it should like they can come here and get real answers to be complete within two years. their questions instead of questioning whether “The support on campus has been incredsomeone is spinning it one way or another.” ible,” Cartwright said. “It takes a lot to get these According to Edwards, NC State students things through and we’ve aggressively pushed and the public can benefit from learning about our concept. The good thing is, there’s somethe connection between NC State’s farm and thing about ice cream. Butter fat provides the food production. grease to the gears of progress.”
Senate welcomes new director of Student Involvement, prepares for spring elections Timothy Willard Staff Writer
Student Government met for the first time since November on Wednesday evening to welcome the new Director of Student Involvement and pass legislation to prepare for the upcoming spring elections. The meeting began with Justine Hollingshead, the former interim Director of
Student Involvement and current Division of Academic and Student Affairs (DASA) chief of staff, introducing Jessica Murphy, the new Director of Student Involvement, to the Student Senate. Murphy said that she was excited to begin working with Student Government this semester. “I’ve worked with [Student Governments] in the past,” Murphy said. “But as some of you are well aware [Student Government] is different at every institution.”
Lauren Siegel, a fourth-year studying economics and computer science and the new Appropriations Committee chairperson, announced that the appropriations process for spring break 2018 to fall break 2018 period will be beginning soon. The application for student organizations opens on Jan. 22 and closes on Feb. 4. Sen. Ryan Dunn, a second-year studying political science and chairperson of the Government Relations and Oversight Committee, introduced and made
a motion to fast track a bill, GB66 Spring Elections Timeline Clarification Act. The bill’s purpose is to clarify the spring election rules to allow for elections to occur before spring break, according to Dunn. “This [new] statute really just clears up [Student Government election rules] so that there will be an election before spring break, which is when they always occur,” Dunn said. Dunn also introduced and made a motion to fast track another bill, GB67 Senior
