Buildings
Main / General Purpose
Houses all offices, conference center, covered picnic area, 34 individual workrooms, a wet chemical laboratory, kitchen, drying, processing and scale rooms.
The office is a center for outreach, administration, and communication. There are computers with internet access, and staff available to answer phones and to assist both researchers and visitors. Events such as an open house are organized through this office, as is the general farm administrative work. Researchers may file task request forms here, such as directions on when to irrigate or fertilize a certain plot. Reservations for dryer space are also made here, as are other scheduling activities.
The communications room houses the computerized Weather Station known as the Colorado Agricultural Meteorological Network (COAGMET), a GPS/GIS station, and other software programs.
Shop & Foundation Seed
This building is shared between two important areas. ARDEC houses the Colorado State University Foundation Seed processing plant. This facility cleans bags and sells foundation seed to selected growers throughout Colorado. In turn, the growers buy foundation seed from this plant to produce certified seed. Certified seed growers are members of the Colorado Seed Growers Association (CSGA). The CSGA is a non- profit educational and service organization, authorized by the Cooperative Extension of Colorado State University as the official seed certifying agency in Colorado. CSGA is a member of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA). AOSCA is an organization composed of agencies responsible for seed certification in the United States and Canada.
Machine Shed
The largest building at ARDEC at 200 feet long by 150 feet wide standing 36 feet tall, the machine shed stores all large equipment including tractors, combines, trucks and more.
Pesticide Storage
Nine individual storage compartments and a chemical mixing laboratory provide a safe temperature controlled environment with placards attached to all doors indicating the hazard of the chemicals stored within each unit. The mixing laboratory is equipped with water, MSDS sheets (Material Safety Data Sheets), measuring instruments, safety clothing and mixing tables. The laboratory also contains emergency systems and supplies; eye wash station, clean-up materials/absorbents, two fire suppression (dry chemical and water), temperature alarms to monitor internal temperatures and a spill basin in case of accidental spills.
The pesticide storage facility is retrofitted with an alarm system in case the temperature of a unit drops below a designated temperature, as chemicals can be ruined by freezing. When the internal temperature sensors are triggered, a light goes on in the shop and an automatic telephone dialer is activated. Presently, this dialer calls the Shop Manager's home phone and leaves a recorded message. Each unit also contains a heating/ventilation system, storage shelves, lighting, and water and dry chemical fire suppression systems. The units are painted white to reflect sunlight which helps to reduce the internal temperatures during the summer. There are two floors in each unit to reduce the spread of spilled chemical. The top floor is grated to allow spilled chemical to enter the sub floor which is a containment basin. Spilled chemical is reclaimed through a capped pipe located on the outside of the unit. Each chamber is assigned to a research project except for the mixing laboratory which is available to all of the projects.
Water
ARDEC is an irrigated farm that strives to utilize such a limited resource as economically as possible. Water is drawn from both surface and well water sources compromising of four booster pumps in addition to three wells. Housing over 16,000 feet of pipe ranging in size from 6 to 24 inches, 75 hand operated valves and 50 air relief valves - we are able to control and deliver more than 40 field turnouts. In addition, ARDEC has three linear moves, one pivot and numerous acres of flood terrain.
