NRAES is the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service (formerly known as the Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service).
The "new" name, approved by the Northeast Extension Directors at their July 1998 meeting, better reflects the scope of NRAES accomplishments for the past twelve years.
NRAES is an interdisciplinary, issue-oriented program sponsored by cooperative extension of fourteen member land grant universities. (See list below.) The program is guided by the NRAES Committee, which includes a representative from each member university. NRAES is a hub for the integration of research, teaching, and extension and for multistate activity.
The mission of NRAES is to assist faculty and staff at member universities in increasing the public availability of research- and experience-based knowledge.
NRAES' scope includes:
- Horticultural production
- Dairy, livestock, and poultry production systems
- Agricultural waste management
- Consumer education
- Natural resources management
- Farm safety
- Biological engineering
- Environmental engineering
The NRAES audience includes:
- Producers
- Educators
- Agribusiness
- Natural resource managers
- Consumers
- Researchers
- Policy makers
- Consultants
NRAES began in 1974 through an agreement among the cooperative extension programs in the Northeast. In 1998, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University became an NRAES member university. The program is guided by the NRAES Committee, which consists of a representative from each member university, the NRAES director, and an administrative liaison appointed by the Northeast Cooperative Extension Directors Committee. NRAES is housed in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at Cornell University. Office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Friday 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., eastern time.
