• On the western outskirts of Ottawa, 188 hectares were chosen as the site of the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) and Arboretum in 1886.
• The Farm has grown to more than 400 hectares and became surrounded by the city while retaining its original 19th century landscape.
• The first Director of Experimental Farms, William Saunders, and the first Dominion Botanist, James Fletcher, planted the first 200 trees and shrubs in the Arboretum in 1889.
• Since then, the CEF has retained its name and most of its character within the Department of Agriculture, now Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

• The Marquis wheat, a frost-resistant and early-maturing strain which helped make the Canadian Prairies one of the world's great grain-producing areas was developed at the CEF.
• Floral beauties such as the Preston lilacs and the Explorer series of roses are creations of the CEF’s researchers.
• The dedicated volunteers of Friends of the Farm work hand-in-hand with AAFC to keep The Farm beautiful and inspiring.

For further information about CEF research history, please check the following report, which is available from our Boutique, One Hundred Harvests - Research Branch, Agriculture Canada 1886-1986 / T.H. Anstey. 1986