The functions, focus, and productivity of the state agricultural experiment stations in the United States

This article evaluates the functions, focus, and productivity of the State Agricultural Experiment Stations (SAES). Resources in the SAES are allocated to four functions. Maintenance research constitutes the major function followed by applied research, basic research, and services. Analysis of the research programs within each of the research functions shows that the primary focus is on farm production research. The results of the ex-ante model shows that return to total investment in research is 25.3%, to maintenance research is 57.6%, to applied research is 26.3%, and to basic research is 16.4%.