Crops
Dryland Crops
Dryland crops research is conducted at the High Plains Agricultural Laboratory (HPAL) 6 miles northwest of Sidney, NE. Located on 2,400 acres, HPAL research and extension focuses on crops and cattle grazing studies emphasizing dryland production systems.
Irrigated Crops
The Scotts Bluff Ag Lab, surrounding the Panhandle R&E Center, comprises 156 acres of irrigated research plots. The Mitchell Ag Lab, 5 miles to the north (the original experimental station site), has 269 acres of irrigated plots.
Livestock
Livestock production has long been the biggest sector of the agricultural economy in the Panhandle. Research conducted at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center is aimed at addressing the challenges facing producers, answering their questions, and improving their net return.
Our facilities include several hundred acres of research plots, irrigation systems, equipment, well-equipped greenhouses, and laboratories. Research is focused on crops and conditions specific to the High Plains of western Nebraska, such as corn, dry edible beans, sugarbeets, potatoes, and specialty crops or alternative crops. Research also concentrates on cattle feeding and nutrition, cow-calf production, range management, and rangeland ecology.