The University of Wisconsin is moving forward with a $75 million renovation project that will upgrade research and teaching facilities in Babcock Hall and build a new livestock and poultry products lab on campus.

According to a UW statement, the Board of Regents approved the plan last week. The plan will provide half of the funds for the new livestock and poultry products lab as well as a remodeling and expansion of pilot plants in Babcock Hall.

The initiative involves two separate projects – the Babcock Hall remodeling and expansion and the construction of a new livestock and poultry product research facility, News Manager of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Bob Mitchell said in an email to The Badger Herald.

The Center for Dairy Research and the Department of Food Science are involved in the expansion and renovation of Babcock Hall, and the Department of Animal Sciences and the Food Research Institute are involved in the construction of the new meat and poultry research facility, Mitchell said.

CDR Director and food science professor John Lucey said he believes the Babcock renovation has been needed for a while.

“There has been no renovation of the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant since it opened in 1950,” Lucey said in an email. “The old dairy plant is basically obsolete and needs considerable upgrades to bring it to modern food processing standards.”

Discussion of a renovation began in the 1980’s, Dean of the UW College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Kate VandenBosch said.

Lucey added the new addition to the dairy plant will have a range of new pilot plant areas for products including yogurt, specialty cheese, protein fractionation and an auditorium with a capacity of 100 students.

According to the statement, the new livestock and poultry products lab will provide research and training facilities to help processors create new artisan meat products.

The new lab will support a research program to develop new products for human and animal health as well as a pilot-processing plant where food researchers can test ideas for preventing contamination, the statement said.

“A modern Babcock Hall Dairy Plant will ensure that Babcock ice cream, which has iconic status for Badgers, alumni and citizens of Madison, will continue to be made in the decades to come,” Lucey said.

With over 22 short courses held every year, the CDR helps both students and businesses, he said.

“A world-class dairy research and education facility at Babcock hall should be a source of pride for all Wisconsinites who love their cheese and dairy heritage,” he added.

Now the project must be approved by the state building commission and included in the 2013-15 state budget.

The funding will be split between the next two state biennial budgets, the UW statement said.

If the project is passed in the state budget, renovation and construction will start in 2015 and be finished in 2017 or 2018, Lucey said.