How can farms accomplish more with fewer resources? The National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory was formed to answer that question. NESPAL searches for ways to maximize efficiency in agricultural production and assure a safe and affordable food and fiber supply, all while protecting natural resources and the environment. 

Located in Tifton, the laboratory was formed in 1991 and is a unit of the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Over time, the laboratory has evolved into an interdisciplinary research and education effort aimed at building a better environment for agriculture and rural America.  

Worth noting: The laboratory’s 50,000-square-foot facility, with an adjacent 12,000-square-foot greenhouse, opened in 1998 and was constructed with funds from the Georgia Research Alliance and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service. About two-thirds of the facility is laboratory space, with the rest dedicated to office and instructional space. The facility and greenhouse were designed to promote environmental sustainability. In 2004, the Tifton Development Authority and OneGeorgia added an 11,000-square-foot wing to house the Georgia Agricultural Innovation Center.  

Institutions involved: University of Georgia  

Research focus: The center’s research focuses on several areas: 

• Making peanuts and other crops more resistant to pests by using biotechnology and specialized plant breeding
• Restoring ground cover vegetation to make it more friendly to wildlife
• Using “precision agriculture” to direct water to areas of the field that need it most and minimizing wastes in other farming practices
• Reducing the cost of production of organic crops through advanced organic agriculture methods
• Enhancing decision-making about water use and water quality
• Bringing wireless and robotic technologies to bear in farm management

GRA investment: GRA invested $3.7 million into NESPAL’s 50,000-square-foot facility and another $4.4 million into the lab’s Precision Agriculture Initiative. 

External funding: Grant funding for laboratory projects totals approximately $5 million annually and comes from a wide variety of sources, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense and Energy; OneGeorgia; private foundations; and commodity organizations, among them cotton, peanut, corn, and turf and forage grasses.  

Web site: http://www.nespal.org