College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Horticulture

Established in 1966, the Horticulture Teaching and Research Center (HTRC) encompasses 180 acres on the south campus of Michigan State University in Holt, Michigan. The center is managed by the Department of Horticulture, and supports research, teaching and outreach missions of MSU’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR).  Research projects at the HTRC include a wide range of studies supporting sustainable production of fruit, vegetable, ornamental, landscape and nursery crops.  Areas of research include soil and fertility management; weed ecology and management; plant breeding; variety testing; irrigation management; evaluation of minor use pesticides (the IR-4 Project); plant physiology; green roof technology; organic production systems; and entomology.  HTRC also hosts many teaching and outreach activities and is home to MSU’s Student Organic Farm and Organic Farmer Training Program.    

Staff Members

• Mitchell Fox: Farm Manager; Email: foxmitch@msu.edu
• Jared Andrews: Assistant Farm Manager; E-mail: andre190@msu.edu
• Dan Brainard: Faculty Coordinator; Email: brainar9@msu.edu; Phone: 517-648-7928

Project Requests

If you are interested in carrying out a research, teaching or extension project at the HTRC, please contact the farm manager for an application form and additional information on user fees and procedures. 

Buildings and Maps

• View buildings at the HTRC
• HTRC Building Designations (Building Map)
• Horticulture Teaching and Research Center (Farm Map)

Employment Opportunities

The HTRC provides rewarding employment opportunities for all students interested in participating in enjoyable and challenging work. There are two work periods at the HTRC:

• In September thru April your duties will include final harvesting and data collection of research plots and routine maintenance of the farm.
• In May thru August your duties will include maintenance of research plots, general maintenance and upkeep of farm, public relations during public field activities, and harvesting and data collection of research plots throughout the growing season.

Please contact the Farm Manager if you are interested.

Weather

AWS hourly, monthly, or weather on demand data: http://www.agweather.geo.msu.edu/mawn/station.asp?id=msu

NOAA - Data from the NOAA station is collected daily and correlated into a monthly report available upon request from the HTRC

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