ANR Research and Extension Centers

The system is operated by the University of California, Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) and is used by University researchers and educators to advance the knowledge and understanding of agricultural and natural resource systems. With a history that dates back to 1912, the system has a rich heritage of contribution to the state's bountiful and productive agricultural and natural resource industries. The REC system is an essential component of the University's continuing commitment to extending the benefits of research to California's citizens.

The REC system has three main purposes:

• To provide University researchers with the opportunity to conduct research in climatic zones and in commodities best suited to their individual research discipline or responsibility.

• To provide University personnel the opportunity to research solutions for important regional problems.

• To extend the results of research to regional clientele and industries so they may put the new information into day-to-day application.

Each center offers unique opportunities for research and education. Climate zones range from the high desert with cool summers and very cold winters (below -10° F) to the low desert with moderate winters and very hot summers (above 120° F). Coastal, foothill, and Central Valley climates are also represented. Elevations run from 4,000 feet above sea level to 60 feet below sea level. Some centers are adapted and equipped to grow tree fruit and vine crops, while other centers specialize in field and vegetable crops. Still other centers specialize in livestock production and in natural resource conservation and management. This variety allows researchers to work within the REC system on any of the more than 250 crop commodities grown in the state.

Totaled over all centers, the system offers 120 professional staff, over 12,000 acres of land, and over 425,000 square feet of building floor space to accommodate research support activities.

Center activities have had a strong positive impact on many ANR's most successful programs. When the state legislature initiated an integrated hardwood range management program, Sierra and Hopland RECs were uniquely positioned as important sites for oak management research and related watershed and wildlife studies. Strawberry varieties developed at South Coast REC are the industry's standard, maintaining California's preeminence in the strawberry industry and providing some 15 percent of the University's total annual return from patents. Research at Desert REC led to the development of a nondormant, blue aphid resistant alfalfa variety that is the most widely used variety in the world. The predictability of frost during the growing season at Intermountain REC made it the ideal location for pioneering research on the controlled open-air release of genetically altered bacteria for the prevention of frost injury on potatoes. Strong partnerships with the citrus industry at Lindcove REC and with the cotton industry and USDA at Shafter REC have greatly increased the University's ability to advance cultural management, variety development, and pest and disease control practices in those important commodities. For researchers involved in the University's Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, the centers provide opportunities to manage pest and disease infestations, monitor the potential for crop damage, and evaluate chemical, cultural, and biological methods of control. The presence of 25 resident academic faculty and state-of-the-art facilities at Kearney Agricultural Center create a minicampus atmosphere in the heart of the fertile San Joaquin Valley. The resident faculty along with many visiting researchers from University campuses and CE county offices interact at Kearney to address a broad array of subject areas, commodities, and problems of regional significance.

Centers offer land, equipment, labor, technical support, and management support to researchers conducting field experiments. Each center is designed to serve a unique set of local and regional needs by providing specialized equipment and the technical staff required for proper management of the commodities grown. Specialized facilities such as greenhouses, laboratories, livestock handling equipment, and controlled-temperature storage for fruit are available at specific centers. Efficiencies are gained because these specialized facilities and equipment are made available to a number of researchers who would otherwise have to procure this type of support independently. The research and commodity expertise of the center staffs makes it possible for researchers with a focus in noncrop disciplines such as entomology to have well-managed crops with which to work. Accordingly, across the system, a wide range of research disciplines is accommodated. Examples of areas studied include variety development, pest and disease management, animal health care and nutrition, crop cultural management, crop physiology, and wildland ecology, to name just a few.

By conducting studies at centers, researchers maintain great control over the experimental procedures and treatments. Thus the REC system enables researchers to conduct expensive, detailed, complex studies that would perhaps be prohibitively difficult to control and protect in a commercial farm or ranch setting. The RECs are naturally well suited to multidisciplinary studies and encourage collaboration and communication among faculty, extension researchers, students, and producers. More than 170 University researchers utilize the system in their research and extension programs.

Services of the REC system are readily available to University academics who hold appointments in Cooperative Extension (CE) or the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES). USDA research personnel also have open access to center services. University of California academics not holding AES or CE appointments, as well as academics from other college campuses or from federal or state agencies, may apply to use center facilities with some restrictions. The system also serves as an educational resource for students, providing hands-on learning opportunities through work-study programs, field trips, short courses, and graduate student research.

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