Extension — helping you turn knowledge into “know how”

The Panhandle Research and Extension Center, located in Scottsbluff, houses 15 faculty with appointments in agriculture and family and consumer science through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Most of the faculty hold joint appointments in research and extension.

History and Location: In 1909, the University of Nebraska Experiment Station and the USDA jointly homesteaded a quarter section of land five miles east of Mitchell, NE. Initial research was in the area of crop production under gravity irrigation. Studies in sheep, swine, dairy, and beef production, in addition to many other crop areas, soon followed.

The 800-acre Experimental Range in Sioux County was deeded to the University of Nebraska by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918. Satellite agricultural laboratories at Alliance (since closed) and Sidney, NE, were added in 1967.

The headquarters of the Panhandle Station moved to the former Hiram Scott College campus after the state had acquired the property after the school closed in the early 1970s. The headquarters and surrounding research plots are located just north of the city of Scottsbluff.

To reflect the University's involvement throughout the Panhandle, the name was officially changed to the Panhandle Research and Extension Center in 1985. 

The Panhandle Center also is the administrative base for the Panhandle District of UNL Extension (shaded area).

Extension Offices in the Panhandle District: