Our facilities

Located at the University's Arborfield Farm and established in 1992, the Centre for Dairy Research (CEDAR) is a unique facility for applied and strategic large animal research.

Research at CEDAR addresses key issues for the sustainability of animal production systems, such as environmental impacts, milk and meat composition and consumer health, antimicrobial resistance, and animal behaviour and welfare.

Our 180-hectare Sonning Farm is home to a 15-hectare Crop Research Unit, where we undertake field trials and field-based research into arable, forage and soft fruit crops.

The Crop and Environment Laboratory is a state-of-the-art controlled environment facility dedicated to crop physiology and crop breeding research. It comprises plant growth chambers, environment-controlled glasshouses, and pollinator exclusion and pollinator flight cages for work on pollinator-dependent crops.

Based at Brogdale Farm in Kent, the National Fruit Collection is curated and maintained by the University in collaboration with the Farm Advisory Services Team, working on behalf of the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

One of the largest fruit collections in the world, the National Fruit Collection includes more than 3,500 named apple, pear, plum, cherry, vine and cob nut cultivars.