West Texas A&M breaks ground on $15 million research feedlot complex

West Texas A&M University officially broke ground on a $15 million research feedlot complex designed to enhance education, research and innovation in beef cattle feeding. The WTAMU Foundation Research Feedlot and the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation Feedlot Education Facility will serve as a hub where students, faculty and industry partners come together to advance the fed-beef sector.

This conceptual illustration shows the Paul F. and Virginia J. Engler Foundation Feedlot Education Facility.West Texas A&M UniversityLocated near WT’s existing feedlot at Nance Ranch east of Canyon, the complex will include an educational center with a classroom and auditorium, 90 pens holding 10 head each, and 40 pens with 70 head each. It will feature state-of-the-art technology for monitoring, feed manufacturing and delivery, plus a top-tier animal-processing facility and feed mill.

“This feedlot will connect our students to opportunity, our faculty researchers to impact, and WT to the people we serve,” said WT President Walter Wendler. He described the project as a place “where science meets soil, where data meets hard work, and where students learn not only the how but the why behind feeding a nation.”

The project is backed by generous donors including the Paul Engler Foundation, which contributed $2 million, Champion Feeders with $1 million, and a $2.1 million USDA grant supporting the education center. A 42.84-acre land gift from local ranchers Mike and Gary Kuhlman also made the facility possible.

Construction on the education center is expected to begin this winter, with feedlot work starting in 2026. The new complex will strengthen WT’s leadership in food animal teaching, research and service while supporting the Panhandle’s beef industry and beyond.