BOZEMAN — Take a drive just five minutes west of Montana State University, and you’ll find yourself at BART Farm, 474 acres of land dedicated not just to supporting research but also teaching the next generation of agriculturists.
“We get the theoretical knowledge up on campus, but we can actually get the applied, practical knowledge right here at BART Farm,” said Kellen Marlow.
Marlow was born and raised in Bozeman and attended MSU, where he first had the chance to work on BART Farm, which stands for Bozeman Agricultural Research and Teaching Farm.
“That was kind of what drove a lot my career path,” said Marlow.
Flash forward, Marlow is now the Livestock Operations Manager at BART Farm.
“A lot of the day-to-day operations with it is animal checks and animal husbandry,” said Marlow.
“We kind of touch base to ensure that the faculty and the classes that are coming out here have what they need to be able to do it,” he added.
As Marlow explains, BART Farm is a crucial part of the community.
WATCH: MSU's BART Farm hands-on learning
“A lot of new research that our wonderful faculty is putting out comes from this area,” said Marlow.
“Being able to have this green space is invaluable to us to be able to pass this on and be able to carry those kinds of things on for the future,” Marlow added.
It’s also critical for students as Dr. Time DelCurto, MSU professor and department head for animal and range sciences explains.
“The students, they can get the same kind of course room instruction at many universities in the west, but here at MSU, we really emphasize hands on and experiential learning,” said Dr. DelCurto.
As Dr. DelCurto explains, BART Farm gives students the chance to work directly with cattle and learn how to breed livestock. He says the animal science department is anticipating a record freshman class this year that would bring them to 500 students, thanks to the hands-on learning component.
“BART is critical to us because it’s right next to campus,” said Dr. DelCurto.“We’re a growing and fairly vibrant program.”
That’s why Marlow and Dr. DelCurto say they’re now hoping to modernize the Bart Farm facilities.
“They’re wonderful facilities, but I think with the size and the growth of our department, we need something a little better; we really struggle when it gets cold,” said Dr. DelCurto.
“For the most part, a lot of this BART comes into being the historic BART that I knew growing up,” said Marlow.
“We want to have it to the point where students can come in and we can do everything right here,we can have classrooms on site,” he added.“We want to be able to have more community outreach.”
