CSU ARDEC
Colorado State University Agricultural Research Development and Education Center
Colorado State University’s (CSU) Agricultural Research Development and Education Center (ARDEC) Main was founded in 1993 to encourage cooperation between soils, crop and water research scientists in an integrated setting under common management. After early success, ARDEC Main was expanded in 1999 to create the same type of facility for animal scientists. Today, ARDEC Main is approximately 1,000 acres of which 889 are farmable and irrigated.
Later, the Hort Farm which had been a departmental resource belonging to the Department of Horticulture & Landscape Architecture (HLA) was transferred to join ARDEC under the ownership of the Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) with the new name ARDEC South. ARDEC South, also known as the Horticulture Field Research Center facility, is approximately 65 acres; 54 acres are farmable irrigated acres including approximately 8.5 certified organic acres. ARDEC South consists of a small house/residence that is used as an office area, a machine shop, an open shed, an enclosed shed with walk-in coolers, and 7 hoop houses.
ARDEC South is home to the CSU Agrivoltaics Testing Grounds demonstration site, established in 2019. The current agrivoltaics testing site is replicated three times and includes three different solar module (panel) technologies with different levels of transparency and a full sun control. Research has been ongoing at this demonstration site; serving as a connection point with growers, stakeholders, legislators, university researchers, students, and the public. In 2024 the site was expanded to include vertical bifacial modules.
ARDEC Main is the site of a cattle feeding pen with shading provided by two pole mounted photovoltaic arrays.
About CSU ARDEC
The technical tour to CSU ARDEC will take approximately five hours.