The MAFES H. H. Leveck Animal Research Center, known as South Farm, includes 1,100 acres of grazing land and houses the Beef Unit, Poultry Unit, Equine Unit, Aquaculture Unit, and Facilities Unit. Caring for livestock is a daily job, 365 days a year. The dedicated personnel at these units care and feed for the animals, while also facilitating the research and teaching programs. The farm and its livestock provide an ample training ground for students in all majors, particularly those in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, Department of Poultry Science, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Aquaculture Unit

The most veteran group at South Farm is the aquaculture unit. The team of four manage 86 ponds, 39 800-gallon tanks, four raceway tanks that contain over 1,200 gallons, two small raceway tanks, and 20 round tanks, with the sole purpose of ensuring aquaculture research remains afloat. Mack Fondren, facilities coordinator, has worked full-time with the aquaculture unit for 33 years, closer to 39 years if you add in his time as a student worker. He was one of the first student workers hired on the farm while he was pursuing his undergraduate in aquacultural management and his master's in ag extension education. Fondren leads the team through the daily routines of checking oxygen levels and feeding. Special projects are done after the daily chores including maintenance and repairs, as well as reconstructing ponds. Fondren's staff includes three full-time employees, all research technicians, and one student worker. Clarksdale native, Troy Lindsey has been with the unit for 27 years. He moved from Chicago where he worked for the USDA as a meat grader. Rodney Reed, a 22-year veteran, also began working at the facility as a student worker while obtaining his degree in fisheries. He turned the part-time gig into a career. Daryl Taylor grew up on a catfish farm and worked several jobs before joining the unit, where he has been for the last 18 years. Together, they keep the research going for scientists in MAFES, the Forest and Wildlife Research Center, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and USDA.

Beef Unit

Some 240 cows call South Farm home. Three full-time staff, four student interns, and four student workers, feed and check the cattle daily. Calving season is always busy as they check and tag new calves. William White, facilities coordinator, has managed the unit for 12 years. White, an animal and dairy sciences alumnus, coordinates all of the research on the farm, in addition to providing the crew with direction on projects. Sarah Montgomery, an assistant herdsman, is pursuing a Ph.D. while working full-time for the unit. The Youngstown, Ohio native earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Tennessee-Martin in ag science production and a master's in agronomy from MSU's Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. Bryan Carter, assistant herdsman and master's student, hails from Pendleton, Oregon. He earned his undergraduate from Oregon State University in animal and dairy sciences. The unit also employees four student interns and four student workers. In addition to cattle, the unit also cares for goat, sheep, pigs, and rabbits.

Equine Unit

Ashley Glenn, Amy Thompson, and six students manage 80 horses and facilities that occupy the Equine Unit. The team feeds, waters, and clean the stalls at the unit twice daily. Spring is the busiest season as horses are foaling. In the fall, the crew vaccinates horses. Glenn has been the facility supervisor for seven years. Thompson is a doctoral student studying equine physiology and working full-time at the unit. A relative newcomer, she has been with the unit for four months and enjoys the opportunity to interact with the horses, something she experienced while at home. In addition to managing the facility, Glenn also coach's the MSU Equestrian Team. Under her guidance, the team has grown from 20 riders in 2016, when Glenn first became coach, to 40 riders this year, often ranking n the top three in the region in Western and English Riding.

Facilities Unit

With 1,100 acres and 10 miles of fencing, the facilities unit of five stays busy on the farm. Every day brings new challenges and opportunities. The crew is led by Sammy Jones, farm supervisor and a 13-year veteran of the university. The crew builds pens for animals, installs and repairs fences, repairs and maintains roads and water lines, harvests hay, plants ryegrass, fertilizes, among a host of other duties required to keep the farm operational. Each year, they harvest 1,500 to 2,000 round bales of hay and 1,500 square bales. Dewaine Graham is a 25-year veteran of the farm crew and enjoys his career and the variability in the work. Brad Dewberry, a 19-year veteran, previously worked for the poultry unit. After moving to Alabama, he moved back home, and returned to the farm. He has been working for the South Farm facilities unit for four months. Darrell Bryant worked in the poultry unit before moving to the farm and has been with the university for 13 years. Blake Miller has also been with the farm for 13 years. The agricultural technicians appreciate the camaraderie they share as a team and knowing that the work they do ensures the farm is maintained for research and teaching activities.

Poultry Unit

Jonathan Moon and his five-person crew maintain the poultry facilities on campus. The complex includes 17 buildings with 10 of those buildings providing housing for birds at various stages of their life cycle. Every aspect of poultry science is covered on the complex from the hatchery, to commercial houses, judging and student houses, and caged layers. The facility also includes a feed mill, processing facility, and biosecure laboratory. Moon, a graduate of MSU's poultry science program, has been with the university for six years. He is currently pursuing a master's degree while working full-time. Houses are divided among the crew for the morning chores, which include feeding and checking on all the birds. The afternoons are generally used to assist with research and teaching laboratories. The crew includes Judias Neal, a research technician with the poultry facility for seven years. Prior to working in poultry, he worked for the aquaculture facility. Tom Tuck, agricultural technician, has been with the facility for eight years. Bailey Breeland, agricultural assistant, first came to the facility as a student worker and then accepted a full-time position about four years ago. The two newest members of the poultry crew have been employed at the facility for six months. Esteban Ruiz, agricultural technician, and Cameron Mangano, research technician. Mangano graduated with a degree in animal and dairy sciences and took a position in poultry upon graduation.