Orr Agricultural Research and Development Center

On this site you will find resources that pertain to beef cattle management, nutrition, reproduction, marketing, and various other topics. The Orr Beef Research Center herd resides on a 206 acre Managed-Intensive Grazed pasture with winter cow feeding facilities. Orr conducts research on beef cattle nutrition, management, reproduction, genetics and grazing.

Dixon Springs Agricultural Center

The Dixon Springs Agricultural Center is the southernmost agricultural research center for University of Illinois.  For almost 60 years, fruit and vegetable research and extension outreach has been conducted on-site, providing Midwest growers with a wide range of information on various topics.

Recent research includes white mold, a soil-borne fungus that can be a problem in many crop, especially tomatoes, grown in high tunnels. The site features three high tunnels, one of which is strictly used for hydroponic production.

The Sustainable Student Farm

The farm is a hands-on learning environment for low-input, environmentally and economically sustainable food production. In addition to horticultural skills, student workers develop applied skills in safe food handling, farm infrastructure design, implementation and maintenance and marketing. The students also participate in experiments and trials on farm both with campus researchers, IL Extension, and for our own interests.

South Suburban Cook Urban Farm

The South Suburban Cook Urban Agriculture Demonstration and Research Site (SoSuCo) is the University of Illinois Extension's premier food production laboratory for showcasing and developing techniques and systems for urban agriculture in South Cook County. The 2021 growing season marks the first full year of production at the site, which features traditional soil-based market farming, custom media-based growing, and year-round production using greenhouse/high tunnel structures.