‘The community banded together.’ After tornadoes, UK research center moves toward rebuilding
One year after a University of Kentucky research center was destroyed by tornadoes that hit Western Kentucky, progress is being made towards rebuilding the facility.
The UK Research and Education Center, located in Princeton in Caldwell County, took a direct hit in the tornadoes. Nearly all of the structures on the property were destroyed.
The farm is also home to the UK Grain and Forage Center of Excellence, which sits on 1,300 acres and conducts research related to grain and beef farming in the area. At the center, research is done on soil, disease and pest control, and grain storage systems, among other areas, and researchers work with farmers throughout the area to distribute research-based information.
Earlier this year, UK received $9 million in the state budget to rebuild the center. At board of trustees meetings last week, the board approved plans to move forward with the construction of three new buildings, including a residence hall, farm shop and field processing building. In total, those buildings are estimated to cost $10 million, which will be covered by insurance reimbursements, said Eric Monday, executive vice president for finance and administration.
In the days after the tornado, center director Carrie Knott said she was struck by how the community quickly gathered together to help them. Farmers donated their time and equipment to help with clean-up, and also brought water for cattle at the farm.
“The community banded together to help us,” Knott said. “The farmers understood that we were in a really bad place, and there were several that brought their own equipment and volunteered their time and their employees’ time and equipment, and started helping clean up. ... It was really humbling to know that they saw our needs — we didn’t have to ask, they just showed up and started helping. That helps you realize just how important our information is to them.”
Some of the research buildings and a conference center were relatively new, built when the Grain and Forage Center opened in 2019. Temporary buildings have been placed on the site until permanent structures can be built.
“The hope is that it will take about five years or less to get us fully rebuilt,” said Knott.
The center will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025, so the goal is to have most of the buildings rebuilt before that anniversary.
“We learned how much our research and service at Princeton is revered by those we serve,” said Nancy Cox, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Our research has changed practices used by farmers to produce food in the most efficient and sustainable ways. After the tornado, those farmers, stakeholders and the community were there to help us. We are so grateful for their support as we continue the rebuild process.”
The silver lining, Knott said, is that the facility can now be rebuilt with modern research facilities. Most of the buildings on the campus were built in the 1930s and 1940s.
“I think the facilities here will be able to support more impactful, more cutting-edge research,” Knott said. “I think we will also be able to recruit more trainees, and by that I mean students. Not only undergraduate interns, but graduate students. I think the modern facilities will be able to get more postdoctoral scholars, visiting scholars and other things that will really catapult us even further for the state and the region as well.”