Mission

The Märja Dairy Research Farm at the Estonian University of Life Sciences is maintained for research and teaching purposes, while it is also operated as a commercial dairy production unit.

History

The new facility of the Dairy Research Farm was opened on 3 November 2008. The current herd is largely descended from the animals of the former research facility that was operated at Erika, nearby Tartu, and was known as “Old Rüütel’s Cowshed” after the name of Arnold Rüütel, the former Rector of the University.  Thanks to the kind assistance of the Animal Breeders’ Association of Estonia that funded the purchase of pregnant heifers, the building up of the herd was completed in 2009.  The current herd consists of 131 milking cows and 95 replacement heifers.