Mission:
The mission of the Conservation and Production Research Laboratory is to provide technology for sustainable production systems in an unpredictable, harsh semi-arid climate that optimizes the use of water, soil, and nutrient resources. This is achieved through research activities of a multidisciplinary staff organized into two research units. The Soil and Water Management Research Unit evaluates and develops technology to improve crop productivity and water use efficiency in irrigated and dryland agricultural cropping systems through development of advanced irrigation technologies, improved irrigation management, novel crop selections and crop rotations, and crop residue management to increase profitability, conserve water, and enhance the environment in the Ogallala Aquifer region. The Livestock Nutrient Management Research Unit conducts research to increase feed efficiency and weight gain and milk production by reducing energy losses through gaseous emissions, which entails monitoring the quantities and sources of gaseous emissions from beef cattle and dairy feeding operations, determining nutritional, physical, chemical and management factors controlling those emissions, and devising and evaluating methods to decrease emissions.