(Left) Mark SheltonMany Californians know of the colleges of agriculture at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Chico State and Fresno State. What is lesser known is that these four campuses, along with affiliated campuses at Humboldt State and CSU Monterey Bay, are members of a consortium called the CSU Agricultural Research Institute.
Building on the success of the Fresno State-based California Agricultural Technology Institute, the founding director of the Agricultural Research Institute, Joe Bezerra, worked with the CSU, agricultural organizations and the Legislature to establish ARI in 1999.
The original goal was to build applied agricultural research capacity at the four founding member campuses, while developing partnerships with the private sector to promote California's economic growth and development.
This mission continues today, as CSU researchers collaborate with scientists from the University of California, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with agricultural business partners who match our $4 million annual state funding with at least this amount in external funds.
Our current research priorities address ongoing and emerging challenges to California agriculture and the natural resources that support agriculture and our state:
- Agricultural business
- Biodiversity, related to agricultural, forest and range systems
- Biotechnology
- Food science/safety/security
- Natural resources management
- Production and cultural practices
- Public policy
- Water and irrigation technology.
Our funding partners include commodity groups such as the California Strawberry Commission and Citrus Research Board; agricultural foundations such as the American Vineyard Foundation; federal agencies such as the USDA, National Science Foundation, Bureau of Reclamation and NASA; state agencies such as CDFA, the Department of Water Resources and Cal Fire; national agricultural organizations such as the Farm Credit system and Dairy Research Institute; and numerous private companies such as Superior Farms, Forage Genetics International, Ball Horticulture and Wawona Frozen Foods. Together, these financial partners have enhanced $60 million in state dollars to support ARI since our inception with more than $70 million in matching funds for the benefit of California agriculture.
Since our founding, more than 2,500 CSU students and hundreds of faculty have participated in ARI research to serve California agriculture and preserve our state's natural resources. In addition to producing research results for agricultural producers, processors and consumers, ARI projects have added research capacity to our campuses, supported our faculty's professional development, trained students in the tools and methods of research, and helped develop a pipeline of knowledgeable graduates for the California agricultural economy.
To learn more about the CSU Agricultural Research Institute, please visit us at www.ari.calstate.edu.
(Mark Shelton is associate dean of the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences and executive director of the CSU Agricultural Research Institute.)
Reprinted with permission: California Farm Bureau Federation
