Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

What Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station does

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES) is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, founded in 1888 and headquartered in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It operates a distributed research platform of 5 research and extension centers and 6 research stations across the state — including the Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research & Extension Center (SAREC), Rice Research & Extension Center (RREC), Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center (NERREC), and others — staffed by nearly 150 faculty across 10 departments and supported by 501-1000 total personnel. AAES conducts research in row crops, rice, soybeans, cotton, horticulture, fruit breeding, livestock, forestry, food science, entomology, plant pathology, and agricultural engineering, and offers free public technical services including soil testing, variety testing, foundation seed production, and nematode diagnostics. Core technologies include a statewide network of 20 weather stations, DNA marker-assisted rice and fruit breeding programs, the open-sourced ChicGrasp AI robotic gripper for poultry processing (81% success rate), and the CSIAPP center for scalable automation in poultry processing; its research outputs include 30+ released rice varieties, 66 public fruit varieties, and 17 southern pea varieties.

AAES does not operate as a commercial enterprise; its funding mix comprises USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grants ($425,000 weather station grant, $5 million CSIAPP grant), state appropriations ($5 million from Gov. Sanders for the Center of Excellence for Food Science and Innovation), commodity board check-off funds (e.g., Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board), and private industry grants and sponsorships from partners such as Bayer Crop Science, Riceland Foods, Horizon Ag, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Farm Credit Mid-America, and the Arkansas Farm Bureau. The organization's go-to-market is channeled through the Cooperative Extension Service, which maintains a presence in all 75 Arkansas counties, supplemented by field days, publications, and social media. Its customer base is effectively the public — Arkansas row crop farmers, fruit growers, livestock producers, the poultry processing industry, and forest landowners — with industry sponsors and research collaborators functioning as funding partners rather than revenue-purchasing customers.

Name

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

Legal name

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

Website

https://aaes.uada.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1888

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, conducts agricultural, food, and natural resource research across 11 centers and stations statewide, serving Arkansas farmers, growers, and processors with plant breeding, weather data, soil testing, and applied AI/robotics through its 75-county extension network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research Services

NAICS

Oilseed and Grain Farming (1111), Corn Farming (11115)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Agricultural & Field Robotics (HDAAAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Plant Tissue, Soil & Water Sampling Coordination (Agronomy-Focused) (AFACABAH), Agricultural Robotics Integration, Retrofit & Automation Services (Kit installs, integration, maintenance) (AFAAAGAJ), Autonomous Field Robots & Tractors (Driverless tractors, robotic carriers) (AFAAAGAA), Seed Testing Services (Germination, Purity, Vigor, Seed Health) (AFACAKAL), Crop Spraying & Chemical Application Services (Ground Rig) (AFACAAAB)

Keywords

• Agricultural research services
• Crop variety development
• Soil testing laboratory
• Agricultural extension programs
• Agricultural robotics research

Headquarters

HQ city

Fayetteville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. USDA Grant Funding: Research funded through grants from U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, including $425,000 for weather station deployment
2. State Funding: State funding from Arkansas government, including $5M approved by Gov. Sanders for Center of Excellence for Food Science and Innovation
3. Industry Partnerships: Collaborative funding from private industry including Bayer Crop Science for AI in Agriculture initiatives and Hackathon sponsorship
4. Commodity Board Funding: Funding from commodity board check-off funds for rice research programs
5. Private Industry Grants and Donations: Private industry grants, contracts and donations supporting research programs at rice research centers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station operates a statewide agricultural research platform delivering crop variety development (rice, fruit, vegetables, cotton, soybean), technical services (soil testing, nematode diagnostics, foundation seed production), and applied AI/robotics automation research. It serves as the research engine for the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, publishing data, releasing improved varieties, and licensing emerging technologies for Arkansas farmers, agribusiness, and the broader agricultural industry.

Product overview

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, operating a distributed platform of 5 research and extension centers and 6 research stations across the state. The network includes the Milo J. Shult Agricultural Research & Extension Center (SAREC) as the main headquarters, specialized research centers for rice (NERREC and RREC), row crops (NEREC), and southwest agriculture (SWREC), plus field stations focused on fruits, vegetables, cotton, livestock/forestry, and row crops. Technical services include soil testing, variety testing, foundation seed production, and nematode diagnostics. Research spans animal and poultry sciences, food science, horticulture, crop sciences, entomology, plant pathology, and agricultural engineering, with emerging AI/robotics capabilities for agricultural automation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ChicGrasp: AI-powered dual-jaw robotic gripper for automated poultry processing using imitation learning and camera perception
• CSIAPP (Center for Scalable and Intelligent Automation in Poultry Processing)
• Center for Agricultural Data Analytics (CADA)
• Sensory Science Center

Products and services

• Soil Testing Service Free soil testing service for Arkansas residents providing pH and fertility analysis using the Mehlich-3 extraction method.
• Variety Testing Program Comprehensive variety testing program evaluating crop varieties under Arkansas conditions for optimal performance.
• Foundation Seed Program Foundation seed production and distribution for certified seed multiplication, housed at the Rice Research & Extension Center.
• Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory Statewide nematode assay and identification services provided by the Arkansas Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory at SWREC in Hope.
• Technology Commercialization (Intellectual Property Management) Intellectual property management and technology commercialization services for research innovations developed at AAES.
• Statewide Weather Station Network Statewide network of 20 high-tech weather stations collecting comprehensive environmental data including temperature, humidity, solar radiation, wind, soil conditions, and rainfall across Arkansas's diverse microclimates, providing publicly accessible real-time weather data for agricultural research and decision-making.
• Rice Varieties and Germplasm Over 30 rice varieties developed and released by RREC scientists during the last 35 years, developed with DNA marker-assisted analysis for traits including rice blast resistance, cooking quality, plant height, bran color, leaf texture, aroma, male sterility, fertility restoration, and herbicide tolerance.
• Fruit Varieties and Breeding Germplasm 66 public fruit varieties developed from the Fruit Research Station, including 21 blackberry, 3 blueberry, 6 nectarine, 11 peach, 4 ornamental peach/nectarine, and 18 grape varieties, plus breeding germplasm used in over 20 additional commercial products.
• Vegetable Varieties (Southern Pea, Spinach, Tomato, Okra, Turnip, Mustard Greens, Cucumber, Collard Greens) Vegetable varieties developed at the Vegetable Research Station including 17 southern pea varieties released since 1973, plus 7 spinach, 5 tomato, 3 okra, 2 turnip, and 1 variety each of mustard greens, cucumber, and collard greens.
• Cotton Germplasm Lines 80+ cotton germplasm lines developed by the NEREC cotton breeding program.
• ChicGrasp AI Robotic Gripper System AI-powered dual-jaw robotic gripper using imitation learning and camera perception to grasp chicken carcasses by legs and hang them on shackle conveyors for automated poultry processing, achieving an 81% success rate. All CAD files, code, and datasets released as open source.

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% success rate for AI-powered robotic gripper in chicken processing automation
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bayer Crop SciencecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026Collaborator on AI in Agriculture Hackathon and Symposium, providing expertise and sponsorship for graduate student competition focused on agricultural AI solutions.
• Georgia Institute of TechnologycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in CSIAPP (Center for Scalable and Intelligent Automation in Poultry Processing) with food scientists and engineers developing robotic technologies including deboning, biosensors, and virtual reality systems.
• University of Nebraska-LincolncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Multi-state research partner in CSIAPP program developing automation technologies for poultry processing industry.
• Fort Valley State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in CSIAPP multi-state research group focused on developing scalable and intelligent automation solutions for poultry processing.
• USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdjacent facilities include USDA Dale Bumpers National Rice Germplasm Center and Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, facilitating collaborative research.
• Greenway Equipment CompanyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Greenway Exhibition Hall at NERREC; supporter of agriculture in northeastern Arkansas through research and educational efforts.
• Horizon Ag, LLCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRice seed company partner with 20+ years of experience working with universities and industry to develop high-yielding rice varieties.
• Arkansas Forest Resources Center (U of A Monticello)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint center between Division of Agriculture and UA-Monticello College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources for forest resources research and demonstration.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArkAgResearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCXV6_ND45kOoy2_T9JI-9KA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ArkAgResearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arkagresearch
• Instagraminstagram.com/arkagresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station