A 300-acre parcel of land at the University of California, Davis, will be ceremonially dedicated Thursday, Oct. 17, for use in a 100-year-long experimental project comparing conventional and alternative agricultural systems. This is the first allocation of the 1,576-acre Russell Ranch property, which was purchased last year in an acquisition that increased the campus' size by nearly one-half. Guests will meet at 3 p.m. at the Russell Ranch headquarters, which is located about two miles west of the central campus on County Road 32. They will then be transported to the project site for a tour and dedication ceremony. A barbecue dinner hosted by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will follow at 5 p.m. The 300-acre plot will be devoted to Long-term Research in Agricultural Systems (LTRAS), a project directed by the UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Program in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Sustainable agriculture emphasizes methods that are environmentally sound and result in long-term agricultural productivity. "Sustainable production systems represent a reasonable strategy for protection of the environment," said John E. Kinsella, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. "By initiating the 100-year project, the university is recognizing the interdependence of agricultural production and resource conservation. Faculty and staff from a variety of disciplines will conduct the rigorous research needed to provide the data on which to base reliable farming practices." Although similar long-term research projects have been initiated in rain-fed agricultural systems, the Russell Ranch project will be the first long-term research facility in irrigated agriculture in the world, according to Montague W. Demment, professor of agronomy and range science and director of the UC Davis Sustainable Agriculture Program. "The major problem facing agriculture is how to increase and sustain food production for an expanding world population, with minimal impact on the environment," said Demment. "The initiation of this project signals a major new commitment of resources by the university to address the sustainability and long-term environmental impacts of agricultural systems." The land for the 100-year project is now being leveled and prepared for a spring planting of Sudan grass, a cover crop that will be grown for one season, then harvested and analyzed to provide a background reading of the land's productivity, Demment said. In the fall of 1992, the first experimental winter cereal crops will be planted. These will be followed by spring plantings of corn, tomatoes and legume cover crops. The experimental plots will be used to evaluate nine different production systems, including the rain-fed, low input approach used in ancient Mediterranean agriculture; fully irrigated, organic farming; and fully irrigated, high chemical input farming. Each of the experimental systems will be replicated in six different fields. The commitment of the land to sustainable research for 100 years is vital, according to Demment, who noted the importance of observing the effects of the various agricultural systems over many years. The field experiments will begin to yield valuable information within just a few years regarding the benefits and trade-offs of the various farming systems; however, it will be three to four decades before the data begin to paint a complete picture of what is happening in terms of productivity and changes in the soil and groundwater. "Time is a critical dimension in research," Demment said. "Many of the important processes that determine the impact of an agricultural system on the environment or on productivity are very slow processes. For example, it may take 50 years for nitrates to reach the groundwater." Meanwhile, the long-term project will provide a research and training facility for researchers and students from many disciplines who are intent on putting basic scientific expertise into action at the applied level. "Eventually these experiments will provide factual, scientific information that will help farmers, consumers and policymakers identify the optimal agricultural systems for California," Demment said.