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Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

Integrating research and outreach education from UMass Amherst

  • About
    • Overview of CAFE
    • Be Ambitious!
    • History
    • Strategic Directions
    • Research & Outreach Interest Areas
    • UMass Extension Board of Public Overseers (BoPO)
    • Partners
    • Locations
    • Faculty & Staff Directory
    • Contact Information
    • Civil Rights Information
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Extension
    • Extension Outreach Overview
    • UMass Extension In Your Community
    • CAFE Extension Faculty
    • Extension Outreach Projects
    • Extension Initiative Reports
  • Programs
    • Extension Programs Overview
    • 4-H Youth Development
    • Clean Energy Extension
    • Climate Change
    • Cranberry Station
    • Crops, Dairy, Livestock and Equine
    • Food Science Extension
    • Fruit
    • Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture
    • Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry
    • Nutrition Education
    • Turf
    • Value-Added Food
    • Vegetable
  • Research
    • Mass Agricultural Experiment Station
    • Information About Accessing Research Funds
    • Research Projects
    • NIFA Integrated Research and Outreach Initiatives
    • Civil Rights Information & Resources
    • Summer Scholars Program
    • REEU Internship Program
  • Resources
    • Resources Overview
    • Interest Areas
    • Extension Sales Portal
    • Agriculture & Commercial Horticulture
    • Community & Economic Vitality
    • Disaster Preparedness
    • Food Safety
    • Home Lawn & Garden
    • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
    • Land Conservation Tools
    • Pollinators
    • Tick Testing Resources
    • Urban Agriculture
  • Services
    • Services Overview
    • Pesticide Education
    • Plant Diagnostics Laboratory
    • Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory
    • Hot Water Seed Treatment
    • Environmental Analysis Laboratory
  • Farms
    • Farms and Facilities Overview
    • Cold Spring Orchard Research and Education Center
    • Cranberry Station
    • Crop and Animal Research and Education Farm
    • Equine and Livestock Research and Education Farm in Hadley
    • Joseph Troll Turf Research Center
  • News & Events
    • Center News
    • Upcoming Events
    • News from the Media
    • Faculty/Staff Brief Bios
    • Spotlight Stories
    • Video Gallery

About CAFE: The Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

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Bombus bumblebee

The Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst integrates research and outreach education in agriculture, food systems and the environment. The Center is the contemporary standard bearer of the university’s land-grant origins. It provides linkages from the University with vibrant business, policy and public interest sectors in the state, including agriculture, the horticultural 'green industries,' environmental decisionmakers and food system interests. The Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station, UMass Cranberry Station, UMass Extension and the Water Resources Research Center are all units of the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment. The Center is based in the College of Natural Sciences at UMass Amherst and also works with the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Engineering.

The Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment is made up of the following units:

Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station

Founded in 1882, the Experiment Station supports and stimulates research by UMass Amherst faculty in agricultural, food-related, environmental, and forest-related topics, in cooperation with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Experiment Station-funded faculty are members of several academic departments at the University, including: the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Food Science, Veterinary and Animal Science, Geosciences, Environmental Conservation, and Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning. Projects are 3-5 years in length, peer-reviewed, and often part of larger programs of inquiry.

UMass Cranberry Station

The Cranberry Station, a unit of UMass Amherst, is located in East Wareham, Massachusetts in the southeastern cranberry-growing region of the state. It was founded in 1911 and remains one of the few centers for research and educational outreach on cranberry production in the world. The Station brings together disciplines including plant pathology, weed management, water and nutrient management, plant physiology, and entomology. The cranberry is native to Massachusetts and the Commonwealth is one of a handful of states that are major producers of the fruit.

UMass Extension

UMass Extension, the Massachusetts partner in the national Cooperative Extension System, provides educational outreach opportunities and resources across the state. Programs take many forms but share a common goal: to educate and inform individuals, communities, and businesses on topics of high public priority, utilizing the academic resources of UMass Amherst. The forms may range from an in-depth series of workshops over many weeks, to an online fact sheet or a single twilight meeting on a Massachusetts farm. Extension education was initiated in the Commonwealth in 1909.

Water Resources Research Center

The Water Resources Research Center supports research, education, and outreach on water resources issues of state, regional, and national importance as part of the national system of institutes authorized under the Water Resources Research Act of 1964. Established in 1965, the Center encourages an interdisciplinary approach to resolving state and regional water problems and has involved the University system and many other Massachusetts colleges and universities in its research.

About

  • Overview of CAFE
  • Be Ambitious!
  • History
  • Strategic Directions
  • Research & Outreach Interest Areas
  • UMass Extension Board of Public Overseers (BoPO)
  • Partners
  • Locations
  • Faculty & Staff Directory
  • Contact Information
  • Civil Rights Information
  • Employment Opportunities

Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment

 

Stockbridge Hall,
80 Campus Center Way
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9246
Phone: (413) 545-4800
Fax: (413) 545-6555
ag [at] cns [dot] umass [dot] edu (ag[at]cns[dot]umass[dot]edu)

 

Civil Rights and Non-Discrimination Information

College of Natural Sciences

Login for faculty and staff

CAFE Units

Mass. Agricultural Experiment Station

UMass Extension

UMass Research and Education Center Farms

UMass Cranberry Station

Water Resources Research Center

Interest Areas

Agriculture

Commercial Horticulture

Energy

Environmental Conservation

Food Science

Nutrition

Water

Youth Development & 4-H

Services

Pesticide Education

Plant Diagnostics Laboratory

Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory

Hot Water Seed Treatment

Water Testing / Environmental Analysis Laboratory

Projects

Conservation Assessment Prioritization System (CAPS)

Extension Risk Management/Crop Insurance Education

Mass. Envirothon

Mass. Herp Atlas

Mass. Keystone

MassWoods

North American Aquatic Connectivity Collaborative

RiverSmart

UMass Design Center in Springfield

Resources

Extension Sales Portal

Agriculture & Commercial Horticulture Resources

Community & Economic Vitality

Disaster Preparedness

Food Safety

Home Lawn & Garden

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Land Conservation Tools

Pollinators

Tick testing

Resources for Faculty and Staff

Extension Programs

4-H Youth Development

Agriculture

Crops, Dairy, Livestock and Equine

Fruit

Greenhouse Crops and Floriculture

Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry

Pesticide Education

Turf

Vegetable

Clean Energy

Climate Change

Food Science

Nutrition Education

Value-Added Food

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