The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences invests nearly $97 million in research and graduate study yearly. Scientists in the college are seeking solutions to the agricultural and ecological problems of our time by conducting basic and applied research focusing on cross-cutting thematic areas.
Research and Extension Centers Penn State operates four agricultural research and extension centers where scientists conduct applied research in real-world conditions and show the results of that research to farmers. The Fruit Research and Extension Center, located in
Biglerville in
Adams County in the tree fruit belt of south-central Pennsylvania, primarily focuses on apples and peaches, but also has cherries, plums, nectarines, and pears. The Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center, located in
Landisville in
Lancaster county in southeastern Pennsylvania, primarily focuses on agronomic crops, vegetables, small fruits, and flowers. The Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center, located in
Northeast in
Erie County in the Lake Erie grape belt of northwestern Pennsylvania, primarily focuses on processing grapes, but also has some wine grapes.
Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center The
Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center () at Rock Springs in
Pennsylvania Furnace,
Pennsylvania, a few miles southwest of
State College in central Pennsylvania, is the primary location for field research performed by the college. It consists of the
agronomy,
entomology,
horticulture, and
plant pathology research farms, as well as being the location of Ag Progress Days and the
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Livestock Evaluation Center. This is the location of Ag Progress Days, Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor agricultural exposition. The Rock Springs Research Center traces its beginning to 1956 when Russel E. Larson, then the head of the horticultural department, began searching for suitable land for a horticultural research farm, as fields close to the University Park campus were being taken over by Penn State University Buildings. The first farm in the
Spruce Creek valley was purchased in 1958, and eight additional farms were purchased up through 1998, bringing the total land area to over 2000
acres (> 800
ha). entomology, horticulture, research farms with dozens of faculty members involved in research projects.
Ag Progress Days, the largest outdoor agricultural exposition in Pennsylvania, is held every August at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. Ag Progress Days was held at various locations around the state until 1976, when Rock Springs became the permanent site. Over 400 exhibitors and 40,000 people attend in a typical year. Activities include crop and farm machinery demonstrations, demonstrations on topics such as healthy lifestyle and cooking, ag safety and health, farm and business, animals and livestock, equine, agronomic crops and soils, and forest and wildlife, and tours that highlight current research activities at the center. It is Swahili for 'light' to symbolize how the app can bring light to
smallholder farmers in Africa who typically lack access to expert knowledge systems. ==Enrollment==