{"id":239048,"date":"2026-04-07T17:43:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/239048\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:43:09","slug":"texas-am-agrilife-celebrates-new-home-for-center-serving-the-high-plains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/239048\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&M AgriLife celebrates new home for center serving the High Plains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Texas A&M AgriLife<\/a>\u00a0held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new\u00a0Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center<\/a>, a state-of-the-art facility that combines research and education outreach for the greater Texas High Plains region.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>Texas A&M AgriLife held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center, located in The Texas A&M University System\u2019s\u00a0Charles W. \u201cDoc\u201d Graham \u201953 DVM Complex on the West Texas A&M University campus in Canyon. (Michael Miller\/Texas A&M AgriLife)<\/p>\n

The facility, at 3211 Russell Long Blvd, is a part of\u00a0The Texas A&M University System\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0Charles W. \u201cDoc\u201d Graham \u201953 DVM Complex on the\u00a0West Texas A&M University<\/a>, WT,\u00a0campus. This complex includes the\u00a0Texas A&M Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach, VERO<\/a>, and the\u00a0Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Regent John Bellinger<\/a> of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents said the ribbon-cutting isn\u2019t just about a building.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe High Plains generates more than $20 billion annually in agricultural economic activity, and what happens here reaches far beyond this region,\u201d Bellinger said. \u201cThis facility represents a long-term commitment to this region and to the people who depend on this work every day. It reflects our broader approach across the Texas A&M University System \u2014 working together, using our full strength, to serve Texans more effectively today and for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the building<\/p>\n

The $30 million multi-use facility will provide office space to support about 60 faculty and staff for the Texas A&M AgriLife Research<\/a> and\u00a0Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service<\/a>\u00a0agencies. In addition, it serves as the district hub for AgriLife Extension and its programming in the 22 surrounding counties.<\/p>\n

The public meeting spaces incorporated into the facilities will support educational outreach and community events, and the modern laboratories support applied, solutions-oriented research by agency faculty.<\/p>\n

Signature programs include beef cattle and dairy; wheat breeding and genetics; irrigation water management; water-limited forage systems; plant physiology, pathology and disease diagnostics; entomology; agronomy and soil science; sustainable livestock systems engineering; agricultural law and economics; gerontology and human nutrition.<\/p>\n

Regional partners, producers and solutions<\/p>\n

Texas A&M AgriLife works across the entire state of Texas, but Jeffrey W. Savell, Ph.D.,<\/a> vice chancellor and dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences, said that doesn\u2019t mean it offers cookie-cutter solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocal work \u2014 paired with the power of our statewide mission \u2014 will focus on the opportunities and challenges that matter here,\u201d Savell said. \u201cWhen scientists, Extension professionals, partners and students work side by side, ideas move faster. Solutions become more practical. That\u2019s what it looks like when a building brings people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center on the WT campus is a visible, tangible commitment to something important: partnership, said Walter V. Wendler, Ph.D.<\/a>, WT president.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Panhandle, we understand partnership,\u201d Wendler said. \u201cWe understand that no single rancher or farmer, no single researcher, no single institution can feed, clothe and fuel the state, nation and world. We work together because the land demands it and because our future depends on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This region is home to key commodities like fed beef, corn, sorghum, cotton, dairy and wheat, among many others. High Plains producers generate more agricultural production than that of most states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe opening of this world-class facility marks a new era and technological leap in our scientific journey alongside the producers of the High Plains,\u201d said G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D.,<\/a> director of AgriLife Research.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe science we generate here will build new and strengthened trust among our partners, in our ability to produce translational solutions across the region\u2019s most important commodity systems,\u201d Lamb said. \u201cThis center will be an integral part of a rapidly emerging paradigm around intelligent agricultural systems, which are critical to supporting healthy lives and livelihoods into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

A space for community, outreach and service<\/p>\n

The new center is an investment in both place and purpose, providing a home that inspires learning, leadership and service for youth, families and communities, said\u00a0Rick Avery, Ph.D.<\/a>, AgriLife Extension director.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis new center strengthens how AgriLife Extension serves the Panhandle by connecting counties, aligning priorities and expanding the reach of our programs,\u201d said Avery. \u201cIt allows us to deliver meaningful, local impact at scale across the communities we serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

This center serves communities across the High Plains and every family and agricultural operation across the Golden Spread, said Brent Auvermann, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center director.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stand on the shoulders of the men and women whose very livelihoods have depended on the land since the pioneer days,\u201d Auvermann said. \u201cToday, we herald a new era in our long tradition of science, outreach, education and service to every resident of the Texas High Plains. This center will serve as an embassy for Texas A&M AgriLife \u2014 a place where we will be about the \u2018people business\u2019 of building trust, sustaining relationships and solving problems.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Print
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Share or print this post: <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas A&M AgriLife\u00a0held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new\u00a0Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[20519,43021,43022,20522,27,29,28,43026,33127],"class_list":{"0":"post-239048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-beef-cattle","9":"tag-corn","10":"tag-cotton","11":"tag-dairy-cattle","12":"tag-texas","13":"tag-texas-headlines","14":"tag-texas-news","15":"tag-wheat-and-small-grains","16":"tag-youth-development"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}