The Future of Experimental Farms on the Island of Guam.

In the early 1970's the University of Guam was awarded Land-Grant status and the Collage of Agriculture was established. Shortly afterwards, substantial investments that addressed the needs of about 250 active farmers were made. Agricultural research was initiated and conducted on three agriculture experimental farms, each representing unique soil and farming conditions. Rapid development of tourism in the1980’s changed both the economy and social structure of Guam. Farming became ungratifying and traditional agricultural research needs have been gradually replaced by environmental and ecological research as well as research geared toward the turf and landscape industries. Consequently, the number of research projects where data are being generated on the experimental farms has been continuously decreasing. Simultaneously, the cost of maintaining farms, including the cost of labor, remains constant and relatively high. Over the last decade, the majority of land in experimental farms remains fallow and if not maintained reverts to jungle within several years. The future of experimental farms has been discussed at the college level and opinions expressed by both faculty and administrators differ substantially. This presentation will address major viewpoints and opinions expressed during these discussions.