Groundbreaking ceremony
New construction of the Hohenheim Center for Livestock Microbiotic Research (HoLMiR)
On October 10th, 2022, State Secretary Gisela Splett (Financial Minister of Baden-Württemberg), Ministerial Director Dr. Hans J. Reiter (Ministry of Science of Baden-Württemberg), University Rector Prof. Dr. Stephan Dabbert, Carmen Zinnecker-Busch, Head of the University Construction Office of Stuttgart and Hohenheim, and Agricultural Scientist Prof. Dr. Jana Seifert laid the cornerstone for the construction of the new animal science research center, the “HoLMiR” at the University of Hohenheim.
Research at the center will focus on the interactions between livestock and their microbiomes, the billions and billions of microorganisms that live in their digestive tracts and elsewhere.
The joint scientific conference held by the German federal government and states (GKW) decided in June of 2018 to support the HoLMiR with modules I and II as a hub of international importance, in accordance with Art. 91b GG, with a total of 47 million euros for the construction of a new research center and large equipment.
RDS Partner is planning and carrying out module II for the property and construction department of Baden-Württemberg, the so-called “animal experimental unit,” which will create housing and infrastructure for up to 6 cows, 20 sheep, 20 pigs and 100 fowl, and allow for full-body testing to be carried out. Overall, the roughly 1,665 square meters of usable space in the research building will offer specialized facilities for keeping and caring for agricultural livestock that are in line with animal welfare requirements.
In order to be able to investigate the animals’ gases, they will be kept in so-called respiration chambers during the day where the intake and exhaust air can be measured. Since only a few research institutions have large respiration chambers for animals such as cows, the four respiration chambers planned at the HoLMiR are particularly important for basic research.
Another special feature of the research building, which has around 1,665 square meters of usable space, is the
future ability to care for so-called gnotobiotic fowl.
The animal experimentation unit will fulfil the structural requirements in a manner not yet available anywhere else in Germany. To do so, the research center will implement special animal husbandry conditions that will set new standards in the country.
