A study examined the benefits of investments in the University of Idaho College of Agriculture (UICA) research and extension programs. Data were collected from personal interviews conducted in fiscal year 1986-87 with all principal investigators, co-researchers, and Cooperative Extension Service (CES) subject matter specialists involved in funded research projects in the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station. It was discovered that UICA research and extension specialists' resources are allocated as follows: 5.1% to services demanded by the public and private sectors, 40.3% to maintenance of the production level achieved by past research, 37.6% to applied research, and 17.0% to long-term basic research. The value of the flow of benefits expected from investment in total research and extension programs was estimated at $881.96 million (excluding the estimated benefits from services rendered by the UICA or the potential benefits from CES consumer- and/or youth-oriented programs). The programs' benefit-cost ratio was calculated at 8.18, and the internal rate of return to total investments in research and extension was calculated at 23.39%. It was estimated that, without CES efforts to identify problems and help research personnel find solutions and implement results, 45% of the benefits from maintenance and applied research cannot be realized. (MN)