The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public research university with a land-grant mission, founded in 1867. Its College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences (ACES) includes departments of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Agricultural and Consumer Economics, Animal Sciences, Crop Sciences, Food Science and Human Nutrition, and Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.
ACES research facilities include the Morrow Plots, established in 1876, which the college describes as the oldest agronomic experimental fields in the United States; the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in southern Illinois; a Feed Technology Center; and the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL). The college says IBRL has partnered with 140 companies since opening in 2018 and that, with the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub, it helps move bioproducts from laboratory to commercial production. ACES also lists the Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center, operated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, among its research facilities.