Teaching Dairy Barn

LEED Certified

The Teaching Dairy Barn facility has brought sustainable design and operations to the world of dairy farming. The building orientation promotes natural ventilation which keeps the primary occupants (cows) happy and healthy in their preferred thermal conditions. The area surrounding the building support constructed wetlands to control stormwater collection and filtration. Energy use in dairy facilities is often driven by lighting load demands. By focusing on selecting and installing efficient lighting as well as high-efficiency milking equipment energy use at the facility has seen a modeled 35% energy reduction.

On the LEED-certified scorecard, the Teaching Dairy Barn scored 48 out of 110 possible points. For a full breakdown, review the report on the US Green Buildings Certification (USGBC) website.

	Sustainable Sites	Water Efficiency	Energy & Atmosphere	Materials & Resources	Indoor Environmental Quality	Innovation & Design	Regional Priority
Points Earned	13 / 26	8 / 10	13 / 35	2 / 14	7 / 15	4 / 6	1 / 4

Project Highlights

The building was designed around bovine comfort.

Cows lay in the sand bedding within the teaching barn — Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine Teaching Dairy Barn – home to 200 cows – has installed a state-of-the-art system that separates manure from sand bedding material, providing clean bedding for the cows and creating muck perfect for making electricity and heat.

LEED®, and its related logo, is a trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council® and is used with permission.