The Agricultural Research Service has dedicated a new research and administrative building on the grounds of Colorado State University's (CSU) Natural Resources Research Center.

The new facility is home to three ARS research laboratories: the Soil-Plant-Nutrient Research Unit, the Water Management Research Unit and the Great Plains Systems Research Unit. ARS is the chief scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“This building will allow ARS scientists to work in state-of-the-art laboratories on campus with their CSU collaborators,” said ARS Acting Administrator Edward B. Knipling.

Some 120 ARS employees will work in the new 100,000-square-foot building. The employees previously worked in separate buildings throughout Fort Collins. In addition to the research staff, the new building houses employees of ARS' Northern Plains Area Office and the agency's new National Software Support Center.