History

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) is located in Homestead, Florida about 30 miles (48 km) south of Miami. The Center was established in 1929 by an act of the state legislature, in what is now Miami-Dade County, on land donated by the Krome family and Mr. Charles E. Schaff. It was originally named the Subtropical Experiment Station, UF/IFAS. 

UF/IFAS TREC -- Providing excellence in tropical horticulture
and natural resources, research, extension, and teaching.

Since then UF/IFAS TREC has long been recognized locally, regionally, and internationally for basic and applied research in the areas of tropical fruit crop biotechnology, environmental stress and plant reproductive physiology, entomology, plant pathology, and horticulture in a warm subtropical environment. UF/IFAS TREC has most recently been recognized as a center of excellence in basic and applied research in natural resource conservation in the areas of soil and water science, hydrology, agricultural economics, and ornamental horticulture, entomology and plant pathology. At the programmatic level, the Center’s research efforts have expanded to include agroecology, molecular plant physiology, biogeochemistry, genetics and plant breeding. These programs are carried out within the framework of four programs areas: Ornamental Crops; Vegetable Crops; Subtropical and Tropical Fruit Crops, and Natural Resources.  

The agricultural industry served by the Center has an annual farm gate value in excess of $800 million with an annual economic impact on the local economy of over $1 billion.