"It shall be the object and duty of said experiment stations to conduct original researches or verify experiments on the physiology of plants and animals; the diseases to which they are severely subject, with the remedies for the same; the chemical composition of useful plants at the different stages of growth; the comparative advantages of rotative cropping as pursued under a varying series of crops; the capacity of new plants or trees for acclimation; the analysis of soils and water; the chemical composition of manures, natural or artificial, with experiments designed to test their comparative effects on crops of different kinds; the adaptation and value of grasses and forage plants; the composition and digestibility of the different kinds of food for domestic animals; the scientific and economic questions involved in the production of butter and cheese; and such other researches or experiments bearing directly on the agricultural industry of the United States as may in each case be deemed advisable, having due regard to the varying conditions and needs of the respective States and Territories." -- The Experiment Station Act, 1887.

Much of the original work expected of the Experiment Station is still needed today. In addition, society has come to expect the Station to do studies of forests and forest management, natural resources uses, human nutrition, food safety, rural sociology and development, and many more topics related to modern development in forest, agricultural, and human sciences.