In a speech at the Massachusetts Agricultural College in 1887, 20 years after its founding, Senator Justin Morrill, framer of the original land-grant act, praised the new institution. The land-grant colleges, he said, were created so that "a higher and broader education should be placed in every state within the reach of those whose destiny assigns them to, or who may have the courage to choose, industrial vocations where the wealth of nations is produced...." In the half-century that followed, two more federal acts generate funding for the remaining mainstays of the land-grant enterprise: scientific research and the cooperative extension system.
The "industrial vocations" that Morrill referred to meant farmers and mechanics. In Massachusetts, the school for "mechanics" was the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. The agricultural school was the Massachusetts Agricultural College, the one we know now as UMass Amherst.

The world has taken many turns in the century since Justin Morrill spoke here in Amherst. Agriculture in the 20th century is no longer identical with farming. Keeping growing things healthy and providing nourishing food for an increasingly urban society requires a whole array of new arts and sciences. At UMass, the offshoots of the old farming tradition include, among others, arboriculture and other "green industry" studies, food science.

Orchard Science
Closest to the old agricultural college's practice of producing food is the UMass Horticultural Research Center in Belchertown. Professor Wes Autio, a pomologist who combines a farmer's skills with a scientist's learning, is like a proud parent as he shows a visitor around the Center.

Here, thanks to the first of many gifts from the Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association, the University owns a 50-acre orchard on a 215-acre wooded and open tract, with glorious views over the Valley to the west. The Association bought the land in 1962 for $40,000 and turned it over to the University. The gift, reads the program for the presentation, "is a positive demonstration of faith in the vitality of the Commonwealth's fruit industry, and confidence in the University's continuing scientific contributions to agriculture."

Then, 15 years ago, the Association began an endowment supporting UMass programs which culminated in a $100,000 gift in 1997. With the help of state matching funds, the endowment has now grown to $175,000. Since 1990, the fruit growers have made annual grants of $5,000 to $15,000 for research on improving crops, as well as for labor at the farm. Talk about seed money.

The Massachusetts Fruit Growers' Association has shown its willingness to support the UMass operation during a time when shifting budget priorities have brought about a reduction in the center's personnel. The Association's gift is all the more welcome. Meanwhile the fruit growers stand to benefit in turn from a scientific operation that helps them control costly tree-fruit pests.

Autio explains that the facility functions in all three principal land-grant areas: teaching, research, and outreach. It is a "living laboratory" for students, who can do hands-on work in a commercial-like setting. In addition, University scientists do research in all areas related to tree fruits, mainly apples and some peaches. That includes integrated pest management, a multi-disciplinary effort to reduce the amount of pesticide use, replacing chemical applications with biocontrols and other management strategies.