Editorial

There's no question that agricultural research is getting squeezed in the financial recession now 2 years old. Last week the Associated Press caught up with a trend at six universities with dairy research programs -- each is selling off all or a significant part of its dairy cattle.

Both the University of Vermont and the University of Minnesota will liquidate over 200 head each in sales this month. The University of Kentucky and Michigan State University's Upper Peninsula Experiment Station have listed their cows for September sales.

But amid this shrinking of the research herd -- caused in part by the same dismal milk prices bringing repeated red ink to many of the nation's commercial dairy herds -- there's innovation. It's encouraging to see what's going on at several of these hard-hit campuses.

For example, when Rutgers University, the land grant institution in New Jersey, found itself faced with huge costs for an aging dairy barn, researchers reached across state lines. They struck a deal in 2002 with University of Delaware, which not only had a new barn but pasture and stall space for combining the two research herds.

Then there's the new dairy research model emerging in Vermont as over 200 Holsteins go on the auction block. The dairy science department struck deals with several private producers. They will host various experiments at their farms. That's making the cooperative extension concept work.

As Minnesota sends its dairy herd at the Crookson campus to the sale barn, that 255 animal lot of cows and heifers represents about one-third of the big ag school's research cattle. They will keep an organic herd at another campus, and shift the remaining research to an existing herd at the St. Paul campus.

By the time you read this, the Crookson cows will have new owners. The University of Minnesota, for all its innovation and juggling to support the state's dairy farmers, isn't out of the woods. It, too, is working to partner with private producers on several experiments.

"I think there will be a number of difficult decisions to come," said Greg Cumo, the associate dean for the extension.

Of particular note as dairy research is realigned is that the cuts this summer seem concentrated in states where grazing on natural pasture is significant to milk production. The lessons learned from research, particularly that built around pasture as a significant source of nutrition, will benefit a lot of small producers across the country. We applaud the innovation in the face of tight research budgets.

Now if we could only be as confident that the latest congressional fix proposed for federal milk regulations would be fair to all producers and simple to administer.

Bet that will never happen.