Animal Science Facilities
Berry College is located on 26,400 acres of forests, meadows, lakes, and streams adjacent to Rome, Georgia. It is 65 miles northwest of Atlanta and 65 miles south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Berry offers a living and learning experience in a setting of natural and unspoiled beauty.
The program in Animal Science operates several outstanding animal units, whose primary use is for education of students in various areas of animal science. These units are also incorporated into the student work program available at Berry College.
The Gunby Equine Center serves to support excellence in equine-related instruction and research, in student-work experience, and in service to the community. A variety of equine-related courses are available through the animal science program. The Berry College Intercollegiate Equestrian Team competes in both hunt-seat and stock-seat divisions against other colleges and universities within a five-state region.
The Gunby Equine Center exists as a 185-acre operation. Facilities include five buildings, the newest being a covered arena and classroom/office complex. In our barns are 50 stalls as well as tack rooms and wash racks. There is a lighted outdoor arena, a 125' round pen, and access to many miles of trails throughout the surrounding mountains.
Berry College owns approximately 60 horses. The availability of horses, obtained by donations, allows students to gain firsthand experience in dealing with a variety of animals and situations. The majority of the horses are used for instructional purposes in hunt-seat and stock-seat equitation. The Gunby Equine Center also maintains a small band of brood mares and one stallion.
Students are also encouraged to bring their horses to campus. The Gunby Equine Center provides full board, access to all facilities, an experienced full-time barn manager, student employees, and access to the trails throughout the campus.
The primary purposes of the Dairy are to support excellence in educational instruction, student-work experience, and national and international recognition of the Jersey dairy cow.
The Dairy currently has over 200 head of cattle. A wide variety of classes are taught at the dairy, where students learn dairy production, artificial insemination, feed formulation, and computer generated management through the Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA). Students gain valuable hands-on experience in activities such as milking, observation of health, treatment procedures, assisting with calving, rearing replacement heifers, and feeding the lactating herd a total mixed ration.
The Dairy has received multiple ratings of "Top Jersey Herd" in the state of Georgia and has been recognized as one of the top herds in the US. In 2004 Berry's Jerseys surpassed the prestigious 1000 pounds of milk fat, making it the number one herd for milk production among Georgia's Jersey Herds as well as number one for butter-fat. In 2005, it was selected first for milk and second for butter-fat among Jerseys.
On the genetic side of the business, the dairy also harvests between 150-200 embryos annually, which are implanted in recipients, frozen, and/or marketed domestically and internationally. Since 2010, the prestigious herd has sold multiple bulls into the AI market that will end up siring cattle all across the country.
The purpose of maintaining any animal at Berry College is to support and foster education and research opportunities, and the beef cattle unit is no exception. In addition to primarily providing support to a wide variety of academic courses offered through the Department of Animal Science, The Rollins Center Beef Cattle Unit provides learning opportunities through the student-work experience of Berry College. Students are also encouraged to participate in research projects, a number of which are conducted at the Rollins Center.
The Rollins Center Beef Cattle Unit consists of a multifaceted operation. As implied by the name, the department maintains two herds of beef cattle. The unit is also responsible for over 80-acres of fields for hay production. A flock of sheep are also maintained for teaching and research purposes. A more recent addition to the operation is the Ray Larsen Quail Research Center. This facility was developed to provide further research and teaching opportunities for students interested in working with avian species, in this case the Bob White Quail.
The Rollins Ruminant Research Center is named in honor of the late O. Wayne Rollins, a prominent Atlanta businessman and successful beef cattle producer. The Rollins family legacy continues to this day.