Departments of the Station
The Station includes a number of departments serving the University's Academic affairs. And, these departments subdivide into varied units were formed and organized in a way facilities the mission of administrating the Station to accomplish works entrusted to it and achieving goals planned for it among the University educational path.
these Departments are:-
The Agriculture Department
The department is concerned with the agricultural activity in the plants aspect where the department tasks are summarized as follows:
1-Facilitating the faculty members' and University Students' task of conducting agriculture Researches related to the plants.
2-Training the University Students and agriculture institutes on various agriculture works related to plants aspect.
3-Providing University's faculties requirements from the agriculture and plants production for the purposes of teaching, Students Training and scientific Research.
4-Insuring the internal ornamental plants for University's member offices and the Station.
5-Providing a variety of agriculture plants services to citizens and governmental departments in the region as apart of community service program.
Facilities and services provided by the department:
• Greenhouses
•Open agriculture fields.
•Seeds.
•Fertilizers.
•Human staff.
• Follow-up and irrigation.
The department is subdivided into a number of units
The unit includes a number of different agriculture fields, and they are as follows:
Field No. 1, is devoted to for cultivating the seasonal crops and Ziziphus trees.
Filed No. 5, is devoted for cultivating palms and chines Ziziphus trees.
Field No. 8, is devoted for cultivating palms and Citrus trees.
Also, there are fields devoted for experiments and scientific Researches.
Center-pivot irrigation:
It aims to cultivating green feed and supplying them to the livestock department.
Greenhouses Unit:
The Greenhouses unit includes a various types of greenhouses, and they are as follows:
Multiple greenhouses and their number are 4.
Individual Greenhouses and their number are 12.
Greenhouses work by Aquaculture system and their number are 1.
And it has been divided to serve the Research and Training process, and for the agriculture production, as it cultivating various types of vegetables, and it also cultivating number of interior Ornamental plants.
Nurseries Unit
The unit includes four (4) nurseries for cultivating ornamental trees, external shad trees and producing plants and flowers, the unit also includes automatic sowing machine.
Apiary Unit:
The unit includes several bee colonies, a Student Training lab and different fixtures for producing honey, queen bees' food and pollen.
The unit also includes agriculture fields (field no. 1), planted with Ziziphus trees and different seasonal crops, which contributes to the provision of pollen and nectar to the beehive.
The Station Gardens Unit:
It is concerned with coordinating and maintaining the Station gardens and other University facilities located at the Station.
Animal Husbandry Department
The concern of Animal Husbandry with its branches of animal and poultry as an important agriculture activity and, a basic driver is emphasized on increasing production efficiency and diversity in animal products of what appropriates to the parallel modern trends to scientific strategies. Also, It works on regulating the daily work of all units and maintaining the preserving herds and their safety from diseases to reach the highest productivity by using the best means and scientific methods that are achieved through the following:
The Department of Animal Husbandry focuses on animal and poultry branches as an important agricultural activity and a main factor in increasing production efficiency and diversity in animal products to suit modern trends in parallel with scientific strategies. It also regulates the daily work of all units and preserving herds and their safety from diseases to reach the highest productivity using the best means And scientific methods that are achieved through the following:
1- Immunizing the different herds with appropriate vaccines according to the vaccination schedules which prepared by veterinarians for the aim of prevention from diseases. Immunizing the two different sectors with appropriate vaccines according to the vaccination schedule which prepared by veterinarians for the aim of prevention from diseases.
2- Close follow-up of animals and poultry by the veterinarians and veterinarians' technicians to ensure its safety and for isolating the pathological cases and treat them.
3- Designing work plan includes dates of vaccinating cows,
4- Milking cows mechanically, and transporting the milk to dairy factory and allocating part of the production to feed male and female calves.
5-Taking care of newborn sheep and goats, and performing the necessary field operations from the early days of giving birth, and following them up carefully until weaning.
6- Training the University Students from relevant colleges and specialized veterinary centers, on the basic agricultural operations which are adequately to qualify and raise the practical capacity of the Student and equip him/ her with the necessary skills which are keeping pace with the latest scientific development in this field.
7- Providing the appropriate environment for the faculty members to carry out scientific Researches on animals and poultry with what contribute to the success of the Research plan through preparing the field and laboratory Research's tools with the help of a trained technical staff on the most accurate details of field and laboratory work stage.
8- Facilitating the task of graduate Student, and overcoming all obstacles before its Research mission through harnessing everything necessary for enhancing the ambitious idea, and accomplishing the study, and the Student utilization from the available potentials and the Department benefits from the Research experiment.
9- Providing the different faculties and departments with scientific Training's samples Such as calves, sheep, goats, chickens, commercial and pollinated eggs, as well as blood and milk samples, as per each of them need.
Services provided by the department to Researchers and Students Training:
• laboratories;
• barns;
• Feed;
• Samples (eggs - poultry - sheep - calves - raw milk).
• Supporting Researchers with human cadres as per the Researcher's need;
• Provide the right environment for Training.
The department is subdivide into a number of unties as follows:
Sheep Unit:
The unit contains thirty nine (39) barns divided between sheep and goats as peer strain, age and production status, where it has been assigned for eighteen (18) goats barns, eleven (11) sheep barns and teen (10) barns for the purpose of eliminating and isolating males after the vaccination season.
There is also in the unit twenty (20) cages for raising males individually; hall specialized for Researches contains twenty (20) movable cages specialized for Students' experiments and Training, and that's beside a Student-amphitheater equipped with seats to monitor animal behavior, and a classroom-equipped laboratory, in addition, the unit includes automatic milking parlor.
Cows Unit:
The unit includes many facilities serve Students Training and scientific Research. The unit has been developed by establishing several new projects include the following facilities:
Cow Barns:
The unit includes a barn for Holsteins cows divided into 12 sub-units for raising cows at different age stages from the beginning of breeding stage until milk production, and the absorptive capacity of a barn reaches 200 dairy cows. The barn also contains twenty two (22) units specialized for cooling fog which works with increased temperatures.
Automatic milking parlor of cows:
The automatic milking parlor works by the rotary parlor system, with absorptive capacity of twenty four (24) dairy cows per milking, and it depend on smart technology in recognizing the inputted cow by the magnetic card placed on it, and milking one cow takes fifteen (15) minutes. The building also includes an upper auditorium for Students, trainees and visitors, and it includes offices for technicians, and isolated rooms for the negative withdrawing pumps, and a room for refrigerated milk tanks.
Dairy Factory:
The factory consists of production lines for milk, yogurt, butter, cheese products, and refrigerated storage room, laundry and sterilization areas. It also has a factory equipped with the latest technology to monitor production lines and quality and a high hall for Students and visitors.
Veterinary Care and Animal Health Building:
The building is divided into two sections:
The First Section: is dedicated for treatment and Student's Training.
The Second Section: is for treating and isolating the infected cases in isolation barns consists of twelve (12) barns, each unit can accommodate three (3) animals, so as the total absorptive is thirty six (36) cases.
Feeding and raising young calves' barn:
The barn is dedicated for raising male and female calves till the age of 3-5 months, the barn's capacity is estimated of 48 male and female calves, also Students are trained on the nutrition programs.
Feed preparation and mixing laboratory:
The unit includes a factory for preparing concentrated feed, specified for feeding ruminants and poultry. Feed are manufactured as per special combinations of grains and food supplements so as the product comes out in the fine and cube form.
Nutrition equipment and machineries:
The unit includes two mixers and green feed distributors which aim to introduce and use agriculture mechanization systems and modern techniques in cows' feeding and that's within the diversification framework in resources and forces' sources.
Poultry Unit:
The unit includes barns for white and red chickens, and a barn for Abyssinian Chicken (guinea fowl), the unit also includes a hatcheries room, refrigerating room, storage room, a warehouse for eggs storage, and a laboratory for Students Training and scientific Research.
The unit is followed by a reserve for wildlife. The reserve is situated on an area of 23.835 square meters, and deers, Oryx and ostriches are raised within it. Besides, it has a part for breeding Chinese dwarf goats.
Horse unit:
The unit includes a stable for horses consist of twenty two (22) barns, all of them air-conditioned. The unit also includes number of horses, and number of Bonnies and donkeys strains.
Department of Technical and Engineering Affairs
The tasks of department are summarized as follows:
1- Training the University and institutes' Students in the governorate on different Agriculture Engineering processes.
2- Supervising the operation and maintain water wells at the Station, preserve it, and all equipment belong to them.
3- Meeting the technical requirements of the Station's department and the University's facilities at the Station, such as educational Veterinary hospital and Research centers so as achieving the proper functioning therein.
4- Cooperating in preparing the projects' technical prescriptions and schemes which the Station's management seeks to accomplish in compliance with works nature and duties of the Station and its facilities in coordination with competence authorities in the University.
Services provided by the department for Students Training:
• Training in functions and special studies of workshops, power and agricultural machinery and maintenance of agricultural tractors.
•Receiving training requests, from outside the University, of technical college students in Al-Ahsa, and requests of the secondary industrial institute.
Services offered by the department to the Researchers:
• To meet researchers and faculty requests needs and provide technical and engineering services for related Research.
• Support departments of the Station with technical support.
The department is divided into several units as follows:
Agriculture Services Unit
The unit is accomplishing and equipping many different agriculture technical works in all of the Station's facilities from agriculture fields, green houses, animals barns, general cleanness, and insuring the entire equipment particular to technical agriculture works.
Wells and Irrigation Unit
The Unit is liable for operating and maintaining wells as per specified programs and schedules to ensure the smooth functioning of these wells' operating and maintenance process.
Mechanical Works Unit
The unit includes mechanical workshop equipped with tools and machineries particular for the mechanic works (benzene– Diesel). This unit works are summarized in Training Students of related University faculties, and Training Students of specialized institutes. Furthermore, the unit undertakes the application of maintenance works on all machineries and the University particular vehicles.
Carpentry Unit
The unit includes an integrated carpentry workshop equipped with machineries and equipment particular for carpentry works. This unit works summarized in Training Students of related University's faculties and Training Students of specialized institutes. The unit also carries out the implementation of the required woodworks for the agriculture fields and Station's departments.
Unit blacksmith:
The unit includes a forge equipped with machineries and equipment particular for smithery works. The unit carries out the metal and iron works from shovels, umbrellas and the preparation of agriculture nurseries etc., in addition to its role in Training University Students on the work of smithery works in relation to workshops.
Organic Fertilizer Processing Unit (Compost):
The department includes fertilizers processing unit whereby the agricultural and plant residues resulting from fields and windbreaks are recycled, and the animal product represented in cows', sheep's, poultry's and camels' output are also recycled as these residuals are transformed into organic fertilizers being utilized in agriculture fields. Besides, the unit also includes equipment particular for fertilizers' processing.
the care department of Scientific Research and Students Training
Generally, the department facilitates the task of Researchers and supporting them with the skilled technical staff that works at the Station, and insuring some Research requirements. The department also provides practical and field Training for University Students of all disciplines. The Department is concerned with the implementation of practical lessons' programs for Students and joiners to specialized Training courses, which are held at the University in general, the Station in particular, or governmental departments.
And the department tasks are summarized as follows:-
1- Training Students on the different processes, and the manner of collecting samples and taking results of experiments and analysis.
2-Conducting chemical, physical and biological tests on raw milk, yoghurt, butter and various food products.
3-Conducting strength analysis tests on samples of food products, plant products, chemical manufactures' products and medicines of various types for Students and faculty members.
4- Following-up Research conducted at the Station's departments.
The services provided by the department to Researchers from faculty members and graduate Students.
• Planning and implementation of applied Research.
• Provide complete technical and field support through assisting and following up the Research programs for faculty members and Researchers.
• Harnessing all of the existing potentials in the department from laboratories, devices and equipment.
The department also includes a laboratory particular for chemical analysis of water, soil, plants and food.
