Founded in 1874 on the initiative of the regional Tyrolean Assembly of Innsbruck, it worked for the relaunch and modernisation of agriculture in the territory. The first director was Edmund Mach, to whom we owe the approach that saw didactics and research as interrelated fields in order to support the development of the agricultural sector.

Mach was one of the 9 members who took part in the project of drafting and establishing the Federation of cooperative consortia in 1895. One of the best-known directors was the president of the autonomous province of Trento Bruno Kessler, who in the 1970s contributed to modernise the Institute.

The organisation was established as provincial in 1990, divided in three centres; educational, experimental and technical assistance. Since 2008 it’s a private foundation with public capital (Edmund Mach Foundation - San Michele all'Adige Agrarian Institute).