|  CO  |  KS  |  MT  |  NE  |  ND  |  SD  |  UT  |  WY  |

Colorado is home to 24.6 million acres of rangeland, 8.8 million acres of cropland, and 3.4 million acres of forestland. Approximately 36% of Colorado is federally owned, including one of our most famous national treasures, The Rocky Mountain National Park. With almost 31 million acres of farms and ranches, Colorado is a major contributor to our Nation’s wheat, livestock, poultry, and many other agricultural industries; producing over $4.5 billion of agricultural products annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in Colorado from federal facilities in Fort Collins and Akron and experimental farms owned by Colorado State University (CSU) at locations north of Fort Collins, CO; at Center, CO; and Rocky Ford, CO; as well as privately-owned land. Individual research projects at those locations contribute to solving national problems associated with global climate change, sustainable agriculture, crop protection, plant biology, food animal production, plant diseases, plant genetics, genetic resource preservation, rangelands, soil management, and water management.

• Akron:
  • Central Great Plains Research Station
    • Central Plains Resources Management Research Unit
• Fort Collins:
  • Crops Research Laboratory
    • Sugarbeet Research Unit
    • Rangeland Resources Research Unit
  • National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation
    • Plant Germplasm Preservation Research Unit
    • Plant Genetic Resources Preservation Program
    • National Animal Germplasm Program
  • Natural Resources Research Center
    • NPA Area Office
    • Agricultural Systems Research Unit (formerly GPSR)
    • Soil Plant Nutrient Research Unit
    • Water Management Research Unit

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Kansas is home to 26.5 million acres of cropland, 15.7 million acres of rangeland, 2.3 million acres of pasture, and 1.5 million acres of forest. Kansas is our nation’s leading producer of wheat (8.1 million acres), sorghum for grain (2.9 million acres), and runs a close second place in the number of cattle and calves (approximately 6.3 million). The combined value of these and other agricultural products exceeds $8.7 billion annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in Kansas primarily from the Grain Marketing and Production Research Center in Manhattan. Individual research projects at that Center contribute to solving national problems associated with crop protection, plant diseases, plant genetics, product quality and utilization, soil management, and air quality.

• Manhattan:
  • Grain Marketing and Production Research Center
    • Biological Research Unit
    • Engineering Research Unit
    • Grain Quality & Structure Research Unit
    • Plant Science & Entomology Research Unit
    • Wind Erosion Research Unit

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Montana is famous for its “Big Sky,” open land, majestic mountains and friendly people that combine to truly make it the “Treasure State”. Montana is home to less than 1 million residents and several million tourists each year. Almost 29% of Montana is federally owned. Major river systems east of the continental divide are the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers that provide substantial recreational resources as well as irrigation water to nearby lands. Water west of the continental divide drains into the Columbia and Snake River systems.

The state is divided into two distinct physiographic and climatic zones in the western and eastern portions of the state. The western third of the state is quite mountainous dissected by the continental divide and containing several national parks and forests. Annual precipitation is quite variable and directly related to elevation. This region has relatively low agricultural productivity, but tourism, recreation, mining and forest products are major income sources. Irrigated production in the west is mostly forages and small grains for livestock with a few small pockets of high value fruit and vegetable crops. The eastern two-thirds of Montana are semiarid (8-14 inches of annual precipitation), rolling plains comprised mostly of rangelands, dryland cropping systems and substantial irrigation development along the rivers and streams. High quality coal, oil and natural gas production is rapidly increasing in the eastern plains as is wind power generation.

The 2002 Census of Agriculture identified about 28,000 farms spread over 60 million acres, of which about 2 million acres are irrigated. Cattle and other livestock produce over half of the total farm income. Wheat is the major dryland crop whereas sugarbeet is the major irrigated crop in terms of value. There are 36.7 million acres of rangeland, 15.2 million acres of cropland, 5.4 million acres of forest, 3.4 million acres of pasture, and over 1 million acres of surface water area. Montana nationally ranks 2nd in barley acreage (36 million bushels on 902,000 acres), 3rd in wheat (112.4 million bushes on 4.9 million acres), 5th in sugarbeets (56,000 acres), 7th in sheep and lamb production (306,000 head), and 11th in cattle and calf production (2.4 million head). The combined annual value of these and other agricultural products in Montana is approximately $2.1 billion in 2006.

Additional information on Montana’s agriculture can be obtained from the National Agricultural Statistics Service at  http://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Montana/index.asp

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in Montana primarily from its federal facilities in Sidney and Miles City. Individual research projects at those locations contribute to solving national problems associated with sustainable agriculture, crop protection, food animal production, rangelands, and water management.

• Miles City:
  • Fort Keogh Livestock and Range Research Laboratory
• Sidney:
  • Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory
    • Agricultural Systems Research Unit
    • Pest Management Research Unit

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Nebraska is home to 23.1 million acres of rangeland, 19.5 million acres of cropland, 1.8 million acres of pasture, and 826,000 acres of forest. Nationally Nebraska ranks 2nd in ethanol production, 2nd in number of irrigated acres, 3rd in land used for grain corn production (7.3 million acres), 3rd in the number of cattle and calves (6.2 million head), 5th in land used for silage corn production (over 409,000 acres), 6th in hogs and pigs (2.9 million head), 7th in soybeans (4.6 million acres), and 7th in forage land (2.9 million acres). Total value of agricultural products in Nebraska exceeds $9.7 billion annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in Nebraska primarily from its federal facilities in Clay Center and Lincoln. Individual research projects at those locations contribute to solving national problems associated with bioenergy, global climate change, sustainable agriculture, animal health, food animal production, food safety, manure and byproduct utilization, plant diseases, product quality and utilization, rangelands, soil management, water management, and veterinary entomology.

• Clay Center:
  • Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center
    • Animal Health Systems Research Unit
    • Environmental Management Research Unit
    • Genetics and Breeding Research Unit
    • Meat Safety & Quality Research Unit
    • Nutrition Research Unit
    • Reproduction Research Unit
• Lincoln:
  • Agroecosystem Management Research Unit
  • Grain, Forage and Bioenergy Research Unit

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North Dakota is home to 25 million acres of cropland, 10.7 million acres of rangeland, and over 1 million acres of pasture. North Dakota nationally ranks 1st in land used for barley production (1.3 million acres), 1st in land used for sunflower seed production (1.1 million acres), 2nd in land used for wheat production (7.9 million acres), 8th in forage land (2.8 million acres), and 10th in land for soybeans (2.6 million acres). Total value of agricultural products in North Dakota exceeds $3.2 billion annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in North Dakota primarily from its federal facilities in Fargo, Grand Forks, and Mandan. Individual research projects at those locations contribute to solving national problems associated with human nutrition, global climate change, sustainable agriculture, crop protection, plant biology, food safety, plant diseases, plant genetics, product quality and utilization, rangelands, and soil management.

• Fargo:
  • Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
    • Biosciences Research Laboratory
      • Animal Metabolism-Agricultural Chemicals Unit
      • Plant Science Research Unit
      • Insect Genetics and Biochemistry Unit
    • Northern Crop Science Laboratory
      • Sunflower Research Unit
      • Sugarbeet and Potato Research Unit
        • Potato Research Worksite (East Grand Forks, MN)
      • Cereal Crops Research Unit
        • Hard Red Spring and Durum Wheat Quality Laboratory
• Grand Forks:
  • Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center
    • Mineral Nutrient Functions Research Unit
    • Mineral Nutrient Requirements Research Unit
• Mandan:
  • Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
    • Natural Resources Management Research Unit

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South Dakota is home to 21.9 million acres of rangeland, 16.7 million acres of cropland, over 2 million acres of pasture, and over 500,000 acres of forest. South Dakota nationally ranks 2nd in land for silage corn (644,000 acres), 3rd in forage land (3.7 million acres), 5th in sheep and lambs (376,000 head), 6th in land for grain corn (3.2 million acres), 7th in cattle and calves (3.7 million head), 8th in soybeans (4.1 million acres), and 9th in wheat (1.6 million acres). The combined value of these and other agricultural products in South Dakota exceeds $3.8 billion annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in South Dakota primarily from its federal facility in Brookings. Individual research projects conducted at Brookings contribute to solving national problems associated with bioenergy, sustainable agriculture, crop protection, product quality and utilization, and soil management.

• Brookings:
  • North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory
    • Integrated Cropping Systems Research Unit

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Utah is home to 10.7 million acres of rangeland, 1.7 million acres of cropland, 1.9 million acres of forest, 1.8 million acres of surface water, and 695,000 acres of pasture. Famous for its Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and its Great Salt Lake, over 34 million acres of land in Utah is federally owned. Utah nationally ranks 6th in number of sheep and lambs (311,000 head), 16th in hogs and pigs (670,000 head), and 16th in land used for barley production (33,000 acres). In addition, farmers in Utah produce 718,000 acres of forage, 113,000 acres of wheat, 46,000 acres of silage corn, and 15,000 acres of corn for grain. The combined value of these and other agricultural products in Utah exceeds $1.1 billion annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in Utah primarily from its federal facility in Logan. Individual research projects conducted at Logan contribute to solving national problems associated with animal health, food safety, plant genetics, rangelands, and crop production.

• Logan:
  • Forage and Range Research Laboratory
  • Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory
  • Pollinating Insect and Biosystematics Laboratory

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Wyoming is home to 27.3 million acres of rangeland, 2.2 million acres of cropland, 1.1 million acres of pasture, and 1 million acres of forest. Famous for its Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, almost 28.8 million acres of land in Wyoming is federally owned. Wyoming is nationally ranked 3rd in number of sheep and lambs (460,000 head), 9th in land for barley (63,000 acres), and 9th in land for sugarbeets (36,000 acres). Farmers in Wyoming also produce 1.3 million cattle and calves, 114,000 hogs and pigs, 939,000 acres of forage, and 130,000 acres of wheat. These and other agricultural products in Wyoming have a combined value of approximately $864 million annually.

The Agricultural Research Service conducts USDA’s research in Wyoming primarily from its federal facilities in Cheyenne and Laramie. Individual research projects conducted at these locations contribute to solving national problems associated with global climate change, crop protection, animal health, rangelands, soil management, and veterinary entomology.

• Cheyenne:
  • High Plains Grasslands Research Station
    • Rangeland Resources Research Unit (also in Fort Collins, CO)
• Laramie:
  • Arthropod-Borne Animal Diseases Research Laboratory

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