The university of florida's institute of food and agricultural sciences (UF/IFAS) is a federal?state?county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources,…

The university of florida's institute of food and agricultural sciences (UF/IFAS) is a federal?state?county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences. The research mission of UF/IFAS, conducted under the auspices of the florida agricultural experiment station (FAES), is to discover new scientific knowledge, encourage innovative study, and create applications based on sound science that address challenges facing agriculture, natural resources, and interrelated human systems in florida, our country, and the world. The university of florida's institute of food & agricultural sciences (UF/IFAS), florida agricultural experiment station (FAES) has facilities located throughout the state - 14 academic departments and two schools based at the main campus in gainesville, 18 off?campus facilities, and an extension office in each of florida's 67 counties. UF/IFAS employs more than 2,000 faculty and staff statewide, including 375 extension agents. The purpose of the hatch program is to conduct agricultural research programs at state agricultural experiment stations in the 50 states, the district of columbia, and the U.S. Insular areas. Hatch activities are broad and includes research on all aspects of agriculture, including soil and W ater conservation and use; plant and animal production, protection, and health; processing, distribution, safety, marketing, and utilization of food and agricultural products; forestry, including range management and range products; multiple use of forest rangelands, and urban forestry; aquaculture; home economics and family life; human nutrition; rural and community development; sustainable agriculture; molecular biology; and biotechnology. Research may be conducted on problems of local, state, regional, or national concern. At the time of application, UF/IFAS has 293 active hatch regular capacity projects that leverage hatch regular capacity funding to cover a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics that align with six critical issues of the hatch regular program: (1) agricultural and food systems, (2) water quality and conservation, (3) natural resources and environment, (4) nutrition, health and food safety, (5) families and communities and (6) youth. Research generated by these projects will benefit scientists in academia, students, federal, state and local governmental agencies, ranchers and other agricultural producers, commodity groups, industry, non?governmental organizations (NGOS), non?profit groups, community resource organizations (CROS), landowners, land managers and the general public at large. Research findings will be disseminated through scholarly publications, presentations and public outreach (extension) programs