{"id":26812,"date":"2019-10-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.tarleton.edu\/news\/new-animal-and-plant-sciences-center-focuses-on-tarletons-roots\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T09:49:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T14:49:48","slug":"new-animal-and-plant-sciences-center-focuses-on-tarletons-roots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/new-animal-and-plant-sciences-center-focuses-on-tarletons-roots\/","title":{"rendered":"New Animal and Plant Sciences Center focuses on Tarleton&#8217;s roots"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"attachment\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 53.16%; max-width: 2344px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-300x159.jpg\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-300x159.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-1024x544.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-600x319.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-768x408.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-1536x816.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-2048x1089.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2021\/11\/image-599-1568x834.jpg 1568w\" alt=\"Animal and Plant Sciences Grand Opening\" width=\"300\" height=\"159\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Animal and Plant Sciences Grand Opening<\/p>\n<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br \/>\nSaturday, October 19, 2019<\/p>\n<p>STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 A new multipurpose complex puts Tarleton State University\u2019s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the forefront of educational delivery and hands-on learning for livestock and plant sciences disciplines.<\/p>\n<p>Located at the university\u2019s Agricultural Center along College Farm Road (County Road 518), the Animal and Plant Sciences Center opened this morning with a ribbon cutting and tours. It is part of $11 million in improvements and modernization of structures damaged in a 2016 tornado.<\/p>\n<p>Texas A&amp;M University System Chancellor John Sharp said the new center is a place where Tarleton Texans will get the know-how to find real-time solutions to real-world challenges. \u201cStudents choose Tarleton for hands-on learning experiences, and this fantastic new facility takes that to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDedicating this one-of-a-kind learning and research facility amplifies our growth and development from modest beginnings,\u201d said Tarleton President James Hurley. \u201cThanks to the vision of early city leaders and our partnership with the A&amp;M System, Tarleton\u2019s agricultural programs now enjoy national prominence. They bring us closer to becoming America\u2019s leading regional comprehensive university.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube Video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/LfxwKvcpAi4\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Calling it a great day for the university and for Erath and surrounding counties, state Rep. J.D. Sheffield (District 59) commended the Texas Legislature for stepping up to help rebuild after a natural disaster.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom robotics to drones to GPS-based applications in precision farming, agriculture has entered a new era,\u201d Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said. \u201cThis facility moves Tarleton front and center to provide the education and research needed to advance that technology.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Steve Damron, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said the center makes room for several programs at one complex and enables the university to develop courses to meet the increasing needs of agricultural industries in Texas and beyond.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTexas agriculture\u2019s economic impact exceeds $115 billion annually, and one out of seven Texans works in an agriculture-related job. So it makes sense to increase Tarleton\u2019s program options and provide opportunities for students to work directly with faculty on research,\u201d he said. \u201cThis new facility makes that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The center features six state-of-the-art laboratories for teaching animal and plant sciences, with individual teaching labs for anatomy and physiology, genetics, nutrition, horticulture and crops science, and soils and entomology.<\/p>\n<p>Stantec is the architect, and Linbeck the general contractor.<\/p>\n<p>A 42,000-square-foot covered, open-sided livestock area allows for observation and hands-on learning with animals. Working and sorting areas for cattle, sheep and goats have pens, alleys, corrals, scales and squeeze shoots.<\/p>\n<p>A teaching arena can be divided into multiple spaces for animal demonstrations, livestock evaluation classes and competitive events. Students will learn how to assist at the birth of calves, lambs and kids.<\/p>\n<p>Four greenhouses, an outdoor demonstration garden for food, forage and ornamental plants, elevated planting beds and teaching plots will boost horticulture and plant science programs.<\/p>\n<p>Supporting Tarleton\u2019s commitment to applied learning, the center features a merchandising laboratory \u2014 The Purple Tractor \u2014 that will sell prepared meats, vegetables and nursery plants produced by Tarleton students.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is an extraordinarily important building, positioning the university as a leader in agriculture education and research,\u201d said state Rep. DeWayne Burns (District 58). \u201cIt augments Tarleton\u2019s dedication to learning outside the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information on Tarleton\u2019s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, go to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/coaes\">www.tarleton.edu\/coaes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&amp;M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today\u2019s scholars into tomorrow\u2019s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.<\/p>\n<p>Contact: Cecilia Jacobs, Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications<br \/>\n254-968-1620<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:priddle@tarleton.edu\">cjacobs@tarleton.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new multipurpose complex puts Tarleton State University&rsquo;s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the forefront of educational delivery and hands-on learning for livestock and plant sciences disciplines.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":49676,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[423],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics-research"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"keegan","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/keegan-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2023\/10\/Spring-Flowers-Admin-Gates_7545-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/category\/academics-research\/\" class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Academics &amp; Research<\/a>"],"unlinked":["<span class=\"advgb-post-tax-term\">Academics &amp; Research<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 7 years ago","modified":"Updated 7 months ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on October 19, 2019","modified":"Updated on October 7, 2025"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on October 19, 2019 12:00 am","modified":"Updated on October 7, 2025 9:49 am"},"featured_img_caption":"Tarleton State University entrance with flags and flowers.","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26812"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54280,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26812\/revisions\/54280"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}