Established at Iowa State in 1888, the Experiment Station fulfilled a Congressional charge for land-grant universities to develop research projects to advance practical science for the citizens of their states. The Experiment Station is not a building or location. It is a program of research that is supported in part with funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and the State of Iowa. At Iowa State University, these public investments support research aimed at solving our state's most pressing concerns in the areas of food safety, food security, natural resource stewardship, and the economic health of Iowa communities.