A multi-state, multi-disciplinary research and education program for the Midwest dairy industry has been launched by ten Midwestern land-grant universities and will be headquartered in the University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences.

A multi-state, multi-disciplinary research and education program for the Midwest dairy industry has been launched by ten Midwestern land-grant universities and will be headquartered in the University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences.

The new program--the Midwest Dairy Consortium (MDC)--is supported by colleges of agriculture at the University of Illinois, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, the University of Minnesota, the University of Nebraska, North Dakota State University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, South Dakota State University, and the University of Wisconsin.

The first corporate partners are MSC Co. of Dundee, IL, and Standard Nutrition of Omaha, NE.

"The mission of the MDC is to maximize use of scarce financial resources and create new support mechanisms to enhance student education and training, promote research directly relevant to the Midwest dairy industry, and deliver information to end-users more effectively," says James Drackley, a U of I professor of animal sciences and the MDC's director.