"A body farm is a research facility where human decomposition can be studied in a variety of settings. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the decomposition process, permitting the development of techniques for extracting information (such as the timing and circumstances of death) from human remains. - It was first started in late 1981 by anthropologist Dr. William M. Bass as a facility for study of the decomposition of human remains."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decomposition
http://web.utk.edu/~fac/