An agricultural experiment station is a research center that conducts scientific investigations to solve problems and suggest improvements in the food and agriculture industry. Experiment station scientists work with farmers, ranchers, suppliers, processors, and others involved in food production and agriculture. They have made outstanding contributions to the development of food and agriculture in the United States and Canada. Farmer spreading grasshopper bait in his alfalfa field. ... Ranching is the raising of cattle or sheep on rangeland, although one might also speak of ranching with regard to less common livestock such as elk, bison or emu. ... A CPU The exact term processor is a sub-system of a data processing system which processes received information after it has been encoded into data by the input sub-system. ...

Displacement

The United States has more than 50 stations (1988), run by about 13,000 scientists (1988). Each state has at least one main station, usually located at and associated with a land-grant university. Many states have branch stations to meet the special needs of different climate and geographical zones in those states. Land-grant universities (also called land-grant colleges or land grant institutions) are US institutions which have been designated by Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. ...

Funding

The U.S. experiment stations are state institutions. However, the federal and state governments cooperate in funding the research done at the stations. The states provide about 60 per cent (1988) of the government money. Additional income comes from grants, contracts, and the sale of products. The stations receive a total income of more than $1 billion a year. Grant is a family name, and also the name of places and things monetary aid, see Grant (money) Federal grant for U.S. government grants. ... A contract is any legally-enforceable promise or set of promises made between parties. ...

Research

Station scientists study a biological, economic, and social problems of food and agriculture and related industries in each state. They investigate such areas as crop variations, soil testing, livestock, processing and animal technology, and other advanced technology to food and agriculture. They also work with specialists called extension agents. These specialists help inform famers about developments in agriculture (see County agricultural extension agent). Most agricultural experiment station scientists are faculty members of the land-grant universities. Sheep are commonly bred as livestock. ... Typically, processing describes the act of taking something through an established and usually routine set of procedures to convert it from one form to another, as a manufacturing procedure (processing milk into cheese) or administrative procedure (processing paperwork to grant a mortgage loan). ... An extension agent is a government or university employee who travels to rural areas to assist the people in learning the newest methods in agriculture and home economics. ...

History

The first state agricultural experiment station in the United States was organised in 1875 at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. It was supported by private donations and state funds. Federal aid for experiment stations across the country began with the Hatch Act of 1887. The provisions of this act and of later legislation providing increasing funds were combined in the Hatch Act of 1955. Wesleyan University founded in 1831, is a private, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. ... Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the south-central part of the state. ... The name Hatch Act is given to two unrelated pieces of United States federal legislation The Hatch Act of 1887 created agricultural experiment stations. ... The name Hatch Act is given to two unrelated pieces of United States federal legislation The Hatch Act of 1887 created agricultural experiment stations. ...

Recent History

The McIntire-Stennis Act of 1962 authorized forestry research studies at experiment stations. The federal government takes part in the experiment station program through the Cooperative State Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The department coordinates research activities among the state stations. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA, is a Cabinet department of the United States Federal Government. ...

Canada

In Canada, about 50 per cent (1988) of the experiment stations are controlled by the Canadian government. The Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa is the headquarters of the federal system. Private industries, universities, and agricultural colleges control the remainder of the stations. Each province has a number of provincial stations. {{Canadian City/Disable Field={{{Disable Motto Link}}}}} Motto: Advance Ottawa/Ottawa en avant City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada location. ...

Sources of Information

• World Book encyclopedia 1988