Under Secretary Northey to help celebrate Auburn’s new Miller Center April 10

U.S. Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Bill Northey will visit Auburn University April 10 as the university cuts the ribbon for its newest facility, an administrative and classroom building at its Miller Poultry Research and Education Center. When complete, the center will be the world’s only cutting-edge research and teaching complex that is comprehensive of the entire poultry industry.

The ribbon cutting will be held at 3 p.m. at the center at 1088 Auburn Lakes Road.

“With Under Secretary Northey’s deep commitment to priorities such as conservation and innovation in agriculture, it will be an honor to celebrate such a revolutionary research complex with him,” Auburn University President Steven Leath said. “We are committed to the same priorities in agriculture, and the Miller Center will enable Auburn to advance those priorities in historic ways for one of the world’s largest agricultural sectors.”

Auburn broke ground on the Miller Center in 2016 and is on schedule to complete the 30-acre, multi-facility complex in 2020.

“Issues such as food safety, sustainability and innovation are paramount to the future of this industry,” said Paul Patterson, dean of Auburn’s College of Agriculture. “With the Miller Center, we are equipping some of the top scientists, students and professionals in the industry to tackle these and many other crucial issues.”

The Miller Center currently includes nutrition and poultry management research facilities, an infectious disease facility, an administrative and classroom building and an equipment testing and demonstration facility, which houses the National Poultry Technology Center. A state-of-the-art processing plant is currently under construction. The site of the Miller Center was already home to a feed mill and animal poultry nutrition center, built in 2012.

The Miller Center’s final phase of construction will include a hatchery, a battery house, chamber and breeder houses and floor pen houses.

For more information on the Miller Center, visit poul.auburn.edu/miller-center.

(Written by Josh Woods, Auburn University)