UF/IFAS North Florida Research & Education Center

Mission

To enhance agriculture, natural resources and quality of life through science.

The North Florida Research & Education Center (NFREC) is one of the largest and the most diverse units of UF/IFAS, consisting of research and education campuses in Quincy and Marianna, Florida. NFREC has 16 active faculty members representing 8 academic departments and the School of Forest Resources and Conservation, 3 emeritus faculty members and a dynamic population of post-doctoral associates, scientific/farm/administrative staff. NFREC-Quincy also is the home to the District Extension Director for Northwest Florida and his staff. This diversity of faculty, staff and programs provides a unique setting for interdisciplinary work within the NFREC campuses, with colleagues on the main UF campus and with faculty at other Centers around the state.

The NFREC interacts with state and federal agencies, such as Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Florida’s Water Management Districts. In addition to private entities like the Nature Conservancy, the Rodale Institute, Coca-Cola, and a variety of industries in forestry and agro-chemicals are engaged with porgrams at the NFREC.  Multi-state programs are carried out with colleagues in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and other states in the southeastern US.

The research and extension programs at NFREC are designed to help agricultural and natural resource clientele adapt and manage resources and agricultural operations effectively and profitably in a changing socioeconomic and environmentally aware setting.

NFREC-Quincy

The programs at NFREC-Quincy cover a very diverse range of crops, including vegetables, row crops, forages, ornamentals, tree fruits, and forests for pulp, fiber and energy. The research and extension efforts include production and management, breeding, variety evaluations, pest management, nutrient management, irrigation management, weed control, and wildlife management. NFREC-Quincy is the home of the main office for the NFREC and houses the office of the Northwest Florida Extension District Director. It also houses one of the state-wide plant diagnostic laboratories. The campus encompasses approximately 1000 acres of irrigated and non-irrigated land including over 300 acres of forest and associated wetlands.

NFREC-Marianna

NFREC-Marianna is a 1300 acre campus that focuses on agronomic and beef cattle research and education. It houses the Feed Efficiency program that is the largest of its kind researching subtropical cattle. The beef cattle research program deals with beef cattle production, genetics and breeding; and is the home of the Florida Bull Test facility. Another important component of this campus is the breeding and production programs in annual peanuts, bahia grass, perennial peanut and winter forages. This campus also houses a scale trial of the Sod Based Rotation program which addresses conservation agriculture in a rotation that incorporates peanuts, cotton and pasture with or without cattle.