Früebüel research station put into operation

Nearly three years after the construction permit was granted, the works to extend and renovate the Früebüel research station in Walchwil have been brought to a close. Nearly 13 million Swiss francs were invested in the project, as detailed in a press release. The result is a modern research and education infrastructure, which has a primary focus on livestock.

The research cooperative AgroVet-​Strickhof will work out of the research station. The cooperative is sponsored by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), the University of Zurich (UZH) and Strickhof. In Walchwil, scientists will be tasked with, for example, conducting projects to investigate how animal feed affects the metabolism of sheep and cows.

With the Früebüel research station, AgroVet-​Strickhof now has four research and education infrastructures. The other locations are in Lindau-​Eschikon ZH, Wülflingen ZH and Alp Weissenstein GR. The four locations cover the altitude levels relevant for Swiss agriculture, ranging from 500 meters to 2,500 meters above sea level.

Melissa Terranova, Head of Research at AgroVet-​Strickhof since April this year, emphasized that AgroVet-​Strickhof’s education and research facility in Walchwil is in both the national and international interest. “Besides AgroVet–Strickhof, Switzerland has neither university-​level education nor research that is directly connected with career training and agricultural practice. This one-​of-a-kind collaboration thus plays a crucial role”, she explains.