SIPS Facilities

Multiple campuses, research partners, and facilities support the research, education and outreach work of the School of Integrative Plant Sciences.

SIPS Service Facilities

petri plates with small plants growing

Plant transformation and technology development for the School of Integrative Plant Science community and beyond.

pans of different soil

Designed for farmers, gardeners, ag service providers, landscape managers and researchers who want to go beyond simply testing the nutrient levels of their soils

petri plates and microcentrifuge tubes

The clinic provides plant disease diagnostic services including analysis of plant material and soil for pathogens as well as suggestions for appropriate control measures.

Learn more about our campuses, facilities, and resources

Plant Science Building, Emerson Hall and Bradfield Hall 

This complex of interconnected  buildings on the Cornell University campus serve as the primary base of operations for the School, hosting administrative offices, classrooms, and teaching and research laboratories specifically equipped for our work.

Adjacent to our home base, Albert R. Mann Library supports learning and research in the life sciences, agriculture, human ecology and applied social sciences.

More Ithaca campus facilities

Laboratories

These research farms, greenhouses and growth chambers that support our research, teaching and outreach are managed by the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station (Cornell AES).

Research farms managed by Cornell AES

  • Dilmun Hill Student Farm (Ithaca) - 12-acre student-run farm, provides students with hands-on learning in organic practices and farm management. Distributes produce to Cornell Dining, Manndible Café, and directly to the public.
  • Farm Services (Ithaca) - Provides agricultural services such as drainage, trucking, mowing and excavating, and a well-maintained fleet of agricultural equipment. Also manages Cornell's four acre compost facility.
  • Campus Area Farms (Ithaca) - Comprises 11 farms and 325 acres of easily accessible research plots in and around the Cornell Campus.
  • Bluegrass Lane Turf & Landscape Research Center (Ithaca) - Center for turf, flower and woody landscape plant research, extension and teaching activities. 12 acres are protected by a deer fence.
  • Cornell Orchards (Ithaca) - 22 acres of apples, grapes, stone fruits and berries in active research, including one certified organic acre.
  • Homer C. Thompson Vegetable Research Farm (Freeville, NY) - 200-acre farm (30-acres certified organic 10 miles from campus. Site for interdisciplinary research for optimizing vegetable production systems in the Northeast.
  • Musgrave Research Farm (Aurora, NY) – 450 acres (100 in research, 20 certified organic) 27 miles north of Ithaca. Research focus on field crops.
  • Long Island Horticultural Research & Extension Center (Riverhead, NY) – 68-acre facility specializes in vegetable, ornamental, and viticulture research. Features state-of-the-art greenhouses, nursery and container production area, and a plant tissue culture facility.
  • Willsboro Research Farm (Willsboro, NY) - 352-acre farm (6 acres certified organic)  located along Lake Champlain hosts research on wide range of crops.

Greenhouses and growth chambers managed by Cornell AES

  • Greenhouses -  146 greenhouse compartments in and around the Ithaca campus total 127,000 square feet for teaching and research including Controlled Environment Agriculture projects
  • Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory -  Adjacent to Plant Science Building, this living plant collection numbers of more than 650 species including Cornell’s famous Titan arums.
  • Plant growth chambers – More than 125 at various locations from 6 to 108 square feet.

 

Cornell AgriTech

Many faculty in our Horticulture, Plant Breeding and Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Sections are based at this preeminent center for agriculture and food research in Geneva, New York, 48 miles north of our Ithaca campus.

Facilities include:

  • Multiple laboratory buildings with research and office space for faculty, technical staff, and graduate students. 
  • Eight nearby research farms, totaling 850 acres of prime fruit and vegetable soil.
  • 65,000 square feet of greenhouse space.

 AgriTech satellite facilities include:

Two USDA-ARS units are housed on our Geneva campus:

Numerous other Cornell AgriTech partners, centers and institutes are based in Geneva, including:

  • Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium – Collection includes more than 860,000 specimens making it a major center for systematic studies of wild and cultivated plants, as well as a library and seed catalog collection. Includes the Liberty Hyde Bailey Conservatory (  Adjacent to Plant Science Building), a living plant collection of more than 650 species including Cornell’s famous Titan arums.
  • Plant Pathology Herbarium - Collection of about 400,000 preserved fungi and other organisms that cause plant disease, including over 7,000 type specimens
  • Cornell Botanic Gardens -- A living museum of cultivated gardens, arboretum, and natural areas that serve as outdoor classrooms and host research. Stewards the university’s iconic gorges and natural areas and conducts vital conservation efforts.
  • Minns Garden – Managed by the Horticulture Section, a delightful mix annual and perennial ornamental plants located between Plant Science Building and Tower Road.  Other ornamental plantings designed and installed by students in the Creating the Urban Eden course surround the building.
  • Crops of the World Garden –Demonstration garden showcases dozens of economically important food, textile and other crops from around the world, including historical corn row spacings, the Iroquis ‘Three Sisters’ planting method and more.
  • Weed Science Teaching Garden – Located behind the Muenscher Greenhouses off Caldwell Road, this garden boasts 125 species of important weeds found in farm fields and gardens, poisonous plants, and species that can invade natural areas
  • Sustainable Landscapes Trail - Showcases the sustainable design and ecosystems services of green infrastructure across the campus including many developed by SIPS faculty and students.

Faculty partnered with SIPS are also affiliated with the following institutions and programs.