The Agricultural Experiment Station System, established nationwide in 1887, conducts and promotes research at land-grant institutions. Research generated through the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station underlies both academic and extension programs. This knowledge is conveyed formally to university students; extension faculty pass it along informally to people in communities throughout the state.

The "Experiment Station" is not a plot of ground or experimental farm, but rather an administrative entity that is responsible for the federal formula funds which are received each year. At most institutions, including this one, the Experiment Station has evolved into the administrative home for all research activity associated with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station supports a network of research activities and applications that occur on the campus and across the state. Today the research program consists of 700+ employees, located in 9 departments, the School of Natural Resources, the Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, and the Office of Arid Land Studies with a total budget of nearly $74 million including federal and state appropriations and grants/contracts. The research effort is conducted under the auspices of more than 200 "Hatch Projects" which are developed, peer reviewed, and approved locally, then subsequently approved by the USDA. Federal, state, and sponsored funds are accounted for within each Hatch project. College of Agriculture and Life Sciences faculty and students collaborate on research projects with other colleges and departments on campus, and with governmental, civic and private sector organizations and individuals on and off campus.

Arizona scientists also participate in more than 60 multistate research and research coordinating committees involving scientists from participating states across the nation.

The Experiment Station manages Agricultural Centers at nine locations in Arizona, to take advantage of different geographic conditions.

For examples of research being done in our college, check out the links to recent articles about research activities found on our homepage.