Panhandle Extension DistrictPanhandle Research and Extension Center

Panhandle Extension District

12 County-Based Extension Offices

County-based personnel:

• Extension Educators• 4-H Assistants• Office Support Staff

Administrative Hub:Panhandle Research & Extension Center

History:• 1909 – UNL, USDA homestead east of Mitchell

•1918 - Experimental Range in Sioux Co. granted

• 1956 - Administration for County Extension

• 1967 - Sioux Munitions Depot/HPAL established

• 1971 - Research & Extension admin combined

• 1974 - UNL acquires former Hiram Scott College

1910:Scotts Bluff Experimental Substation

1910: Breaking the sod at the Experiment Station

Threshing the first crop at the Experiment Station, 1910

Knorr-Holden Continuous Corn Plot

Early Irrigation Research

Wheat rotation research, ca. 1914

Early livestock feeding tour

Panhandle R&E Center Centennial, 2010: The old and the new

Human Resource Capacity

• Specialists– 14 faculty members, research/extension

appointments– Joint appointments with campus departments

• Technical Support– 25 research technicians/technologists– 12 operational / business/ facilities support

• Educators and Assistants – 20 extension educators– 6 extension assistants/coordinator

Academic Disciplines

• Ag Economics• Alternative Crops Breeding • Dry Bean Breeding• Soil/Nutrient Management• Crop Physiology/Potato• Weed Management• Cow-Calf Production/ Range

Management• Feedlot Nutrition/

Management

• Plant Pathology• Entomology• Geoscience• Entrepreneur/Business

Development• Dryland Cropping Systems• Irrigation Management• Range/Forage Management

Facilities

• Scotts Bluff Ag Lab - 156 irrigated acres• Mitchell Ag Lab - 269 irrigated acres

– Panhandle Research Feedlot - 105 pens• High Plains Ag Lab (Sidney)

– 710 rain-fed acres– 1600 acres of crested wheatgrass

• Sioux Co. Experimental Range - 800 acres• Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory

Scotts Bluff Ag Lab

• 156 irrigated acres• Several greenhouses• Laboratories: weed science, dry bean

breeding, alternative crops breeding, entomology, plant physiology/potatoes, soils, plant pathology

• DA Murphy Arboretum

Mitchell Ag Lab

• 269 irrigated acres• Panhandle Research Feedlot - 105

pens

Sioux Co. Experimental Range - 800 acres

High Plains Ag Lab (Sidney)• 710 rain-fed acres• 1600 acres of crested wheatgrass

Panhandle Agriculture

• 4800 farms

• 5.7 million acres of rangeland– 270,000 beef cows

• 2.2 million acres of dryland crops– wheat, proso millet, sunflowers

• 732,000 acres irrigated farmland– corn, sugarbeets, dry beans, alfalfa,

potatoes

• 660,000 cattle on feed

5,698,482732,589

2,210,655

Range

Irrigated

Dryland

Diverse Agricultural Production

Traditional crops

Hay – Wheat – Corn

Specialty crops

Dry bean – Sugarbeet – Sunflower – Proso millet

Other crops

Potatoes – Grass seed – Chicory - Grapes

5,698,482732,589

2,210,655

Range

Irrigated

Dryland

Spires of Extension:• Cropping Systems

• Beef Systems

• 4-H Youth Development

• The Learning Child

• Community Vitality

• Nutrition and Health

• Water and Environment

Panhandle ExtensionEngaging the Public

• Field Days• Open Houses• Workshops• Feedlot Round Table• Advanced Cropping School• 4-H Expo• County Fairs• Advanced Cropping School• Dry Bean Day and Field Day• Demonstrations• Tours• Classes: ServSafe, Medicare,• TEAMS

Responsive. Innovative. Trusted.