Milo J. Shult AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EXTENSION CENTER

Horticulture research at SAREC consists of four areas of study: (1) sports and lawn turf management, (2) sustainable and organic fruit and vegetable production, (3) protected fruit and vegetable production, and (4) plant breeding and variety testing. Facilities and resources at the Center include the Horticulture Field Laboratory; an equipment storage facility; breeding/nursery greenhouses; production research greenhouses and high tunnels (for protected organic and sustainable production); golf, sports, and lawn turf research areas; vineyards; and field research areas.

Poultry Science research first began in 1916, three years before the SAREC location was secured. But, it got its greatest boosts in funding and new facilities when the Poultry Experimental Farm was constructed on 23 acres in 1932, and again when the Chicken of Tomorrow contest was hosted at the Center in 1951. Currently, there are two poultry farms at SAREC, the north farm anchored by the Skeeles Poultry Health Laboratory and the Cargill Poultry Health Center, and the west farm that includes the 10,000 sq. ft. pilot processing plant, poultry feed mill, the hatchery, an environmental laboratory, and 12 poultry research houses. Work at the Center includes antibiotic-free/disease research, poultry management, poultry nutrition, poultry breeding, broiler/broiler breeder research, layer research, and research on shell eggs.

A major addition to the SAREC was the construction of the crops physiology Altheimer Laboratory and Greenhouses, built in stages starting in the late 1950’s with the building of a small laboratory and greenhouse. From 1960-62, a contribution by the Ben J. Altheimer Foundation allowed the first expansion of the facility. It grew to 11,000 sq. ft. with other gifts from the Foundation and commodity boards by the early 1970’s and then to 19,000 sq. ft. at its dedication in 1980 following an 8,000 sq. ft. expansion begun in 1976. The last expansion was completed in 1993 when 3500 sq. ft. were added for a soils testing laboratory and other improvements along with the construction of a new greenhouse complex. In June 2021, faculty and staff laboratories and offices were moved from the Altheimer Laboratory to the newly constructed Crop Science Research Center (CROP) building. The Fayetteville Agricultural Diagnostic Laboratory (FADL) continues to occupy the South end of the Altheimer Building, but the two northernmost sections of the Altheimer Laboratory’s top floor will be razed to construct two new greenhouses and the section closest to the FADL will serve as a head house and workspace.

The 4,200 sq. ft. research facility, the newest at the Center and made possible through gifts from Cargill Protein, Tyson Foods, and the Tyson Foundation, allows AES poultry researchers to study alternatives to antibiotics. Poultry scientists, flock management specialists, and nutritionists are evaluating products currently available as well as developing novel and promising probiotics and other products for commercialization.

Constructed in 1967 and named the Virology and Biological Control Laboratory, it was renamed in August 1997 as the Cralley-Warren Laboratory in honor of two former directors of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Dr. E. M. Cralley (1959-1973) and Dr. Lloyd O. Warren (1973-1983). The laboratory supported AES field research in entomology and plant pathology and housed the first electron microscope in Fayetteville and was used by both AES and UAF scientists. The building has 11,200 sq. ft. with thirteen laboratories, and currently houses the Arkansas Plant Health Clinic.

Office and laboratory space for faculty in the CSES Department was upgraded with the construction and opening of the CROP building in June 2021. The CROP building houses the programs of 7 faculty from the CSES Department working in the disciplines of weed science, crop physiology, and soil fertility and nutrient management.

The CROP building houses modern laboratories and office spaces for seven faculty programs. CROP provides office space for staff and 50+ graduate students, two shared laboratory/work spaces and one large and one small conference room equipped with LED monitors. There is a radioisotope lab with a small greenhouse for teaching and research, a laboratory equipped with a spray chamber, 8 growth chambers, plant/biomass drying ovens, plant and soil grinding rooms, a walk-in cold room and a secure seed storage room.

The original headquarters of the Agricultural Experiment Station was on Maple Street where the Rosen Alternative Pest Control Center is located on the campus of the University of Arkansas. Built in 1888, it was eventually razed in 1970. For the next 47 years, the AES was co-located on the University of Arkansas campus with Bumpers College. In 2017, thanks to the generous support of the Tyson family, the AES moved into its new headquarters at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences (DTAS).

The DTAS is a 52,000 sq. ft., two-story facility with two wings. The south wing houses the administrative operations for the AES. The larger north wing has space for 20 state-of-the-art laboratories, with accompanying offices and graduate student areas. The building has first-rate meeting facilities to accommodate conferences, seminars, workshops, board meetings, and banquets related to the research and Extension mission of the Division of Agriculture. Foremost is Waldrip Hall, gifted by Mark and Angela Waldrip, which can seat up to 500 people.

The Dorothy E. King Equine Pavilion, opened in 1999, is located adjacent to the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center and was made possible by a gift from the Carl B. and Florence E. King Foundation. The equine pavilion has a teaching area for students, ten stalls for horses, and a 150’ x 250’ lighted outdoor arena.

The 12,000 sq. ft. Poultry Health Laboratory is capable of the highest bio-safety rating (P3) of any university laboratory dedicated to poultry research. The Laboratory was completed in 1992 with state and federal funding. Current research in the laboratory includes work on probiotics and prebiotics to improve the health, performance, and food safety of poultry. The laboratory is named for the late Dr. John “Kirk” Skeeles who was a noted AES researcher in poultry health and veterinary science from 1978 to 1999.

The 7,365 sq. ft. laboratory, opened in 2008, was made possible through a matching gift from the Tyson Foods Foundation. The Laboratory provides reliable, consistent, and timely animal disease diagnostic services, health monitoring programs, and authorized USDA testing programs.

The laboratory’s clientele includes the poultry industry, private veterinary practitioners, farmers, individual animal owners and university faculty.

The Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center, located directly on Highway 112, has been a signature facility SAREC since its opening in 1998. The building was funded by a combination of state and federal funds with the critical capping gift being made by Pauline Whitaker.   It includes a 100’ x 250’ riding arena with permanent seating for 750. In addition, the Center has three classrooms that can seat 50 persons each; a 2500 sq. ft. foyer and reception area; a conference room; and a 10,000 sq. ft. show barn with twenty-five pens, scales, squeeze chute, and washing and drying areas located immediately adjacent to the Center.