New Mexico State University’s Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) will host its annual field day both in person and virtually this year.
The field day will begin with registration at 7:30 a.m. Oct. 8 at the research center. To get there, either search for State University Ranch Headquarters on Google Maps, or enter coordinates 32.530294, -106.804344. Field tours will be offered from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and lunch will be provided from noon to 1 p.m.
Attendees will learn about the various types of research conducted at the center, located in a remote area just north of Las Cruces. Among the research topics to be presented are building knowledge and tools for ranch and rangeland resilience; long-term climate, grazing season and stocking rate trends; K-12 lessons about sustainable Southwest ranching; rangeland restoration efforts at the research center; and body scanners to access condition of range beef cattle.
“The NMSU CDRRC is a cardinal research station within the New Mexico Agriculture Experiment Station network. It serves an elite long-term agroecosystem experimental establishment formed in 1927 on behalf of the U.S. Morrill Act,” said Dave Lowry, CDRRC superintendent. “Several ongoing research projects date back to the CDRRC’s inception; hence, it hosts one of the longest-term vegetation and grazing monitoring efforts in the southwestern US. The 100-square mile CDRRC currently serves as a model of sustainable ranch and rangeland research, teaching and Extension, and is composed of a robust working group of scientific collaborators whose goals are to identify sustainable management protocols for managing New Mexican rangelands.”
Participating academic and research departments at this year’s field day include Animal and Range Sciences; the USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range; the Asombro Institute for Science Education; and NMSU’s Cooperative Extension Service, Department of Computer Science and the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
This year’s field day may also be accessed via Zoom at https://nmsu.zoom.us/j/9195493433.
Masks are required for attendees who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine, and recommended for those who have. The field day will be held outdoors. Individuals with a disability and in need of an auxiliary aid or service to participate should contact Autumn Martinez at 575-636-3132 or purple@nmsu.edu.
For more information about the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center, visit https://chihuahuansc.nmsu.edu/index.html.
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CUTLINE: Attendees at this year’s Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center field day will learn about the various research projects taking place at the center, including livestock and rangeland research. (NMSU photo)
Man on a horse overlooking a herd of cattle in a pen