NMSU's ag research is an economic driver for New Mexico
In the midst of the Civil War, when 11 states seceded from the Union and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed, the land-grant university system was established by the Morrill Land Grant College Act of 1862. The act set aside federal lands to create colleges to provide education related to agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanical arts so that members of the working class could obtain a practical education. Funding for research and the establishment of the Agricultural Experiment Station was later provided by the Hatch Act of 1887, and funding for Cooperative Extension Service by the Smith-Lever Act of 1914.
New Mexico's Agricultural Experiment Station was constitutionally mandated in New Mexico through the state's constitution in 1915. The Experiment Station is the research arm of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. It includes researchers located on the main campus as well as those located throughout the state at 12 science centers.
Faculty have tenure homes in eight academic departments, which address education and research needs for stakeholders throughout the food and fiber supply chain, including input suppliers, farmers and ranchers, food processors and distributors, and final consumers.
The location of the 12 science centers allows faculty, staff, and students to conduct research in New Mexico's diverse production regions, which include three crop production regions, five defined watersheds, and 126 distinct soil types. The science centers provide critical infrastructure for researchers to conduct agricultural experiments in real-world settings that reflect the state's agricultural and natural resource diversity. Research needs are identified by center advisory committees that include food and fiber stakeholders like local farmers, ranchers, businesspeople, and residents. Each center produces research that provides best practices and advancements specific to agricultural producers in their area.
Nine of the science centers focus on crop production, which is critical to the state's agricultural economy. Crops included in current research include the state's staples such as pecans, alfalfa, onions, chile, and other field crops. Additionally, new and unique crops are being studied for their potential within the state, including saffron, hemp and low water-use herbs. Three science centers focus on range and livestock production, including feedlot production in Clayton. The John T. Harrington Center in Mora focuses on research related to forests and forest health.
The work conducted by Agricultural Experiment Station researchers contributes to the state's economy in a couple of ways. The first contribution arises as researchers use funds provided by the state, combined with funds from the federal government and other non-profit and industry organizations, to conduct their research. These expenditures circulate through the economy, creating economic activity and generating economic output. The second contribution arises as research findings are implemented into production practices. These benefits are sometimes referred to as functional contributions.
In a report published in 2020, I estimated that the Experiment Station's total contribution to the state from research expenditures was in excess of $60 million. The functional contributions of the Experiment Station are more challenging to measure, in part because research is a cumulative process. Research being conducted today may take years before it is finalized and implemented into production. Previous research suggests that the social internal rate of return for agricultural research and development could range between 17 and 67%. These impacts are real, and they are significant.
Faculty, staff, and students who make up New Mexico's Agricultural Experiment Station, founded within the land-grant university system, are conducting fundamental and applied research under New Mexico's varied environmental conditions to meet the food and fiber supply chain stakeholder needs of communities throughout the state. Their work contributes to the state's economy and has impacts that will be felt for many years.
Jay M. Lillywhite is the associate dean of the New Mexico State University College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and director of the New Mexico Agricultural Experiment Station. He can be reached at lillywhi@nmsu.edu.
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: NMSU's ag research is an economic driver for New Mexico
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