Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station
Fairbanks Research Station
The Fairbanks Research Station is comprised of the Fairbanks
Experiment Farm, offices, laboratories, and greenhouses. The Farm
is located on West Tanana Drive on the UAF
campus and it includes 260 acres of cropland and 50 acres
of forest land for research and demonstration projects. The Farm
houses a red barn, a 65-foot high grain handling facility, a small
stationary sawmill used to cut rough lumber for farm structures,
feed mill, maintenance shop, combination greenhouse and agronomy
lab, visitors' center with a small gift shop, two residences and
several storage facilities. The Georgeson
Botanical Garden is located east of the site.
History
- 1906: Established by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) as an Agricultural Experiment Station to conduct research
and promote agriculture in Interior Alaska
- 1922: University of Alaska opened on a site adjacent to the
USDA Experiment Station
- 1931: USDA Experiment Station was transferred to the University
of Alaska for use as an agricultural experiment station comparable
to those at other land-grant universities
- Interior Alaska has approximately 22.5 million acres of productive
forest lands
- Researchers seek environmentally sound methods to diversify
local and state economies by producing high yields of quality
wood products. Research focuses on:
- Developing forest ecosystem management
- Improving forecasts of forest growth and yield
- Designing cost-effective forest regeneration practices
- Researchers seek to determine nutritional characteristics
of cereal grains developed in Alaska for use in livestock diets
in conjunction with by-products from Alaska's fishing industry
- Current research is predominately with swine nutrition and
production
- Past research focused on sled dogs, sheep and beef cattle
- Research on soil and crop management to sustain agriculture
emphasizes:
- Breeding and selecting field crops and forages adapted to
high latitudes
- Enhancing soil nitrogen in subarctic conditions by using
legumes
- Reducing pesticide use and determining alternatives for pesticides
- Developing biological controls for plant diseases
- Assessing how agricultural practices might impact the production
of "greenhouse" gases at northern latitudes in its
relation to global change
- Integrated research involving economics, social, and environmental
impacts in resource management includes:
- Evaluating multiple-use land plans for research in agronomy
and forestry
- Assessing the impact of recreational activities on natural
areas
- Marketing research includes:
- Improving marketing techniques for farmers' markets and roadside
stands using the "Alaskan Grown" logo and program
- Using sensory panels to determine the characteristics of,
and consumer preferences for, Alaska agricultural products
- Research on horticulture--Alaska's largest agricultural industry--focuses
on:
- Improving annual flowers, native plants, fruit crops, and
woody and herbaceous perennial ornamentals for high latitudes
- Developing management systems for efficiently cultivating
these crops
- Applying research results on light quality, daylengths and
temperature to the greenhouse production of horticultural crops
- The Georgeson Botanical Garden
serves as a demonstration garden for research results on
annual and perennial horticulture plants
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Junction Research Site | AFES ]