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Story by Morgan Marketon

The South Dakota State University College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences will celebrate the reopenings of Cottonwood Field Station and the Transient Animal Facility at the end of September, highlighting investments that support research, teaching and extension across the college.

The facilities serve distinct purposes but share a common goal of enhancing hands-on learning opportunities for students while strengthening research and outreach efforts that benefit South Dakota agriculture.

“I am very excited about the reopening of these facilities, which will better enable our mission in research, teaching and extension,” said Joseph Cassady, SD Corn Endowed Dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.

Located near Philip, the Cottonwood Field Station serves as SDSU’s only field station dedicated entirely to range management. The station encompasses 2,640 acres and has a commercial Angus herd of approximately 125 to 150 cows. An additional 1,100 acres near Fort Meade near Sturgis are used for summer grazing.

Recent renovations expanded the station’s ability to support livestock and rangeland research. Improvements include a monoslope feedlot, updated cattle-handling facilities, a multipurpose meeting and educational space and wet-lab capabilities adjacent to the animal working area.

"The renovation wasn't about increasing cattle numbers," said Amanda Blair, professor and assistant director of West River Research and Extension. "It was about expanding what we can learn from the animals on land already available to us.”

The updated facilities provide researchers with opportunities to study cattle production and grazing systems with emerging technologies, including virtual fencing, GPS livestock monitoring, automatic weighing systems and precision feeding. The improvements also create additional opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students to participate in research and gain practical experience in beef cattle production and rangeland management.

The Cottonwood grand reopening event will be held Sept. 25. Pre-event tours will begin at 8:45 a.m., followed by a welcome and ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. SDSU President Barry Dunn and other guests will provide remarks. Facility tours will resume at 10:15 a.m., and the event will conclude with a reception featuring SDSU ice cream at 11:30 a.m. Cottonwood Field Station is located at 23738 Fairview Road, Philip.

The university will also celebrate the reopening of the Transient Animal Facility on the SDSU campus in Brookings, which provides dedicated space for animals housed on campus temporarily for research projects, coursework, livestock judging team preparation and the annual Little International event.

The 2022 derecho destroyed multiple buildings at the facility and left the college without an appropriate space for temporary livestock housing. Because of biosecurity and disease management requirements, these animals must be housed separately from the university’s permanent livestock herds.

Construction of the facility was completed in summer 2026 through legislative support and the efforts of faculty and staff. This building restores critical infrastructure while supporting the experiential learning opportunities that are a hallmark of the college’s agricultural programs.

The Transient Animal Facility grand reopening will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by a reception on Sept. 25 at 3:30 p.m. Community members, alumni, students and industry partners are welcome to attend and learn more about the facility’s role in supporting agricultural education at SDSU. Enter through the SDSU Horse Unit at 1423 Medary Ave., Brookings, and follow signage to find the Transient Animal Facility.