MSU Offers Hands-On Experience for Students

The MSU Dairy Food Complex, is not just home of the beloved Dairy Store, but it also incorporates the Dairy Plant and research laboratories.
Nik Basford, senior at MSU and food science major, said that having a dairy plant on campus is an advantage. A lot of things I have learned in class have been helpful here, and a lot of the things I have learned here are helpful in class, said Basford.
Although the majority of students employed by the Diary Food Complex are food science majors, other departments and faculties such as the MSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering also use the facility for graduate and undergraduate research.
Dr. John Partridge, Faculty Advisor for the plant said as far as the students go they get to see what they are going to face when they get out in the real world. "They are hands-on involved in making the product", he said.
Rodney Clark, the Dairy Production Supervisor said they teach the students proper sanitation, production, pasteurization, and quality assurance testing.
In the spring semester the facility is more available from a teaching standpoint. We make the facility open for other faculty members to use for  research, if they can use it safely, said Partridge.