A demonstration farm, experimental farm or model farm, is a farm which is used primarily to research or demonstrate various agricultural techniques, with any economic gains being an added bonus. Demonstration farms are often owned and operated by educational institution or government ministries. It is also common to rent land from a local farmer. The leaser is allowed to perform their demonstrations, while the land owner can be paid for the land usage or may be given the resulting crops. [1]
Many demonstration farms not only have crops, but may also have various types of livestock. Various techniques for feeding and bedding are tested on these farms. Demonstration farms run by universities are not only used for research, but are also used for teaching purposes. The Ontario Agricultural College operates a demonstration farm in which students take active participation in their classes.
There has also been an expanding number of demonstration farms which are used to test various forms of renewable energy, primarily wind turbines and solar panels. [2]
Model farms became popular during the Industrial Age, providing education to urbanized populations and encouraging improved welfare standards for agricultural workers. Farm buildings were designed to be beautiful as well as utilitarian, inspired by the ideals of the enlightenment.
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In the nineteenth century, a combined effect of population pressure and the scientific revolution drove Western Europe to consider a fundamental revolution in agricultural training and practice. A number of prominent European agricultural experts, including the agricultural secretary of Scotland and famous agriculturalist Arthur Young, argued for the creation of institutions dedicated to agricultural experimentation. [3] One attempt to introduce scientific approach to agriculture was the formation of ‘model farms’ across Europe. These farms served as experimental models, in which to develop and experiment with husbandry practices and technology.
One of the most well-reputed and long-lasting model farms was Hofwyl, an estate near the Swiss city of Bern. In 1799, Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg purchased 250 acres of land and over the next forty years, created five establishments on his model farm, which he named Hofwyl. [4] An agriculturist by trade and a moral reformer at heart, he sought to establish agricultural educational institutions dedicated to both scientific approach to agriculture and reconnecting individuals of all social classes to the land. His two most celebrated schools, the Scientific Educational Institution for the Higher Social Classes (1806) and the Poor School (1810) garnered attention and visitors from all over Europe and the United States. [5]
Through the establishment of an institution dedicated to the discipline of agricultural experimentation, improvement, and innovation, Fellenberg hoped to elevate his students’ minds and improve society in general. He divided his pupils between two aforementioned institutions: the sons of rich gentlemen and affluent landowners, and those of the poor and vagrants. [5] The Scientific Educational Institution for the Higher Social Classes provided rigorous academic and practical training in scientific disciplines deemed useful in agricultural studies, such as mathematics, chemistry, and natural history, while the Poor school sought to instill its less fortunate students with skills and manual training necessary for agricultural operations. [3] The former group followed a rigorous schedule from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., covering not only the theoretical aspects of studies, but also training in practical gardening and husbandry techniques and immersive work with local peasantry. The elite students were encouraged to undertake self-activities such as student government, and also shouldered the responsibility of experimenting with and maintaining their land plots. [6]
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Campus farms are common in the United States [8] and other countries. They are used in some cases as part of educational curricula. [8] They also sometimes help produce food for campus dining halls, but generally have low agricultural output. [9]
In the 1916 novel Seventeen, which takes place in a small city in the Midwestern United States (probably Indiana), a group of perhaps 15 teenagers takes a trolley ride to a model farm. There, they take a guided tour, then adjourn for a huge farm-style luncheon served by farm staff and made from the farm's produce. A dance follows. [12] In this scenario, the model farm was adjacent to the city. The farm served meals to the general public, and functioned as an entertainment destination.
During and episode of Kid Food Nation, the cast and the viewers see the processes it takes to grow, package and ship fresh food by getting a look inside Nature Fresh Farms greenhouse and packaging facilities.
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore is located in Bengaluru, India. It was established in 1964 as UAS Bangalore by a legislative act.
The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute is an institute under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with the mandate for developing new techniques for the design of agricultural experiments as well as to analyze data in agriculture. The institute is affiliated with and is located in the campus of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, a deemed university, at Pusa in New Delhi. The institute includes sections that specialize in statistical techniques for animal and plant breeding, bioinformatics, sampling, experimental design, modelling and forecasting.
Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. The field of 'extension' now encompasses a wider range of communication and learning activities organized for rural people by educators from different disciplines, including agriculture, agricultural marketing, health, and business studies.
Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg was a Swiss educationalist and agronomist.
The School of Environmental and Biological Sciences (SEBS) is a constituent school of Rutgers University's New Brunswick-Piscataway campus. Formerly known as Cook College—which was named for George Hammell Cook, a professor at Rutgers in the 19th Century—it was founded as the Rutgers Scientific School and later College of Agriculture after Rutgers was named New Jersey's land-grant college under the Morrill Act of 1862. Today, unlike the other arts and sciences schools at Rutgers, the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences specializes in environmental science, animal science and other life sciences. Although physically attached to the New Brunswick-Piscataway campus, most of the SEBS campus lies in North Brunswick, New Jersey.
Agricultural education is the systematic and organized teaching, instruction and training available to students, farmers or individuals interested in the science, business and technology of agriculture as well as the management of land, environment and natural resources.
An agricultural experiment station (AES) or agricultural research station (ARS) is a scientific research center that investigates difficulties and potential improvements to food production and agribusiness. Experiment station scientists work with farmers, ranchers, suppliers, processors, and others involved in food production and agriculture.
Josiah Holbrook was the initiator and organizer of the lyceum movement in the United States. He formed the first industrial school in the country in 1819, organized the first lyceum school in the country in 1826 and inspired the foundation of the American Lyceum Association, the first national education association. He founded the Holbrook School Apparatus Manufacturing Company and made a variety of teacher aid items for common schools and scientific training aids for teachers to use in lyceums. He also wrote and traveled extensively to promote the lyceum concept. His method combined teaching in academic subjects like Greek, history and mathematics with practical farming skills and crafts. In the beginning, his system flourished in the New England states, later branching out into the Midwestern states, and eventually going nationwide to 3,000 towns and cities. He was also an advocate of professional teacher training and broadening female education.
Southwest University (SWU) is a public university in Beibei, Chongqing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education, and co-funded by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction.
Lakeland College is a post-secondary college in Alberta, Canada. It is publicly funded, and maintains two campuses in Vermilion and Lloydminster. Lakeland serves over 7,000 students through the academic year with 2,223 studying full- and part-time.
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is a teaching, research and Extension scientific organization focused on agriculture and natural resources. It is a partnership of federal, state, and county governments that includes an Extension office in each of Florida's 67 counties, 12 off-campus research and education centers, five demonstration units, the University of Florida College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, three 4-H camps, portions of the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, the Florida Sea Grant program, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the UF Water Institute and the UF Genetics Institute.
Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), also known as Bidhan Chandra Agricultural University, is an agricultural university in West Bengal, India. The university aims to provide higher education in theoretical and technical fields of Agriculture, Horticulture and Agricultural Engineering. It grants Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, Bachelor of Technology, Master of Technology and Doctorate degrees.
The University of Illinois Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District, also known as South Farm, is a designated historic district in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located on the campus of the University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois. The district consists of eight contributing structures and several non-contributing structures. The district was designated in 1994 when it was added to the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Multiple Property Submission concerning Round Barns in Illinois. Three of the district's buildings are early 20th century round barns constructed between 1908 and 1912. The district covers a total area of 6 acres (2 ha).
A common perception is that the birth of Cooperative Extension followed the passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, which provided federal funds to land-grant universities to support Extension work. In the formal sense, this is true. Even so, the roots of Cooperative Extension extend as far back as the late 18th century, following the American Revolution, when affluent farmers first began organizing groups to sponsor educational meetings to disseminate useful farming information. In some cases, these lectures were delivered by university professors — a practice that foreshadowed Cooperative Extension work more than a century later.
Animal Research Institute is a research institute in Greece. It is part of the National Agricultural Research Foundation.
The Don B. Huntley College of Agriculture is the college of agriculture at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona located in Pomona, California, United States. Founded in 1938, the college offers instruction in eight majors leading to the bachelor of science degree. Over 700 acres (2.8 km2) of university-owned land are available for pastures, crops, groves and ornamental plantings.
The University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources is the agricultural and environmental sciences college of the University of Maryland and operates the Maryland Sea Grant College in cooperation with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Mitraniketan Vishwavidyapeetam for Open Learning & Total Development is a Non-Governmental organization located at Vellanad, which is 25 km away from Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state in South India. It is a 500-member community, including a staff of 100 men and women. Mitraniketan works in the fields of innovation, training and extension in community development, environment, science, education and appropriate technology. The project was begun with a view to offering education and training in a holistic spirit to primarily socially underprivileged children and youngsters. The organization focuses on alternative education mode for development.
Scotland's Rural College is a public land based research institution focused on agriculture and life sciences. Its history stretches back to 1899 with the establishment of the West of Scotland Agricultural College and its current organisation came into being through a merger of smaller institutions.
Hofwyl School was a progressive, Swiss boarding school and teaching college in the village of Hofwil, founded by Philipp Emanuel von Fellenberg at the start of the 19th century.