What is NERA?
The Northeastern Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors (NERA) is a formal coalition of Directors of fourteen state agricultural experiment stations (SAES) and one of five such organizations that together constitute agInnovation. The northeastern SAES are primarily located on the campuses of the region’s thirteen Land-grant Universities with the exception of Connecticut, which houses a stand-alone station in New Haven and another at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. All these stations contribute to a nationwide research system dedicated to meeting the global, national, and regional challenges associated with agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and human nutrition by offering the best available science.
Members of NERA are participants in a partnership with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA. $22 million in Federal funding (Hatch Multistate Research Fund) and state matching funds are strategically deployed for the research missions at member institutions. Managing collaboration is an essential role of NERA, located at the University of Rhode Island. NERA serves as the premier connecting organization for the region’s agricultural experiment stations.