[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 91 (Wednesday, June 17, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1462]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF 100 YEARS OF THE BLACKLAND RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 
                          CENTER IN TEMPLE, TX

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN R. CARTER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 16, 2009

  Mr. CARTER. Madam Speaker, today I rise in recognition for the 100 
years of work of scientists at the Blackland Research and Extension 
Center in Temple. They have worked on securing a safe and affordable 
food supply, protecting the environment, and strengthening the economy.
  The Center was created by the Texas Legislature in 1909 and was 
charged to solve pressing problems with the soils and crops grown in 
central Texas. Today the Center occupies a 542 acre site in the south-
central part of the Texas Blackland Prairie, a 12 million acre 
agricultural region stretching over 300 miles along I-35 from the 
Texas-Oklahoma border to San Antonio. The Center is the state's premier 
research agency in agriculture, natural resources, and the life 
sciences.
  In 1931 the USDA-Soil Erosion Service, which was later renamed the 
Soil Conservation Service, joined scientists at Blackland to intensify 
research on soil and water associated with farming the region's highly 
erodible soils. This began a long history of cooperative and highly 
productive research between the Texas A&M System and USDA in Temple, 
which has led to the development of many modern soil conservation 
practices used by farmers around the world today.
  Today, the Blackland Research and Extension Center shares research 
facilities with the Grassland, Soil, and Water Research Laboratory of 
the USDA--Agricultural Research Service. By combining innovative 
research, they continue to find solutions to problems and issues in the 
way we manage our land and water resources in Central Texas and beyond. 
They work regularly with scientists in the military helping to find 
innovative ways to restore and maintain Fort Hood's military lands in 
the best possible condition for training those who defend our country. 
The Center also works closely with USDA-Natural Resource Conservation 
Service and other federal and State agencies to assist in applying 
sound scientific principles to manage our agricultural and urban lands 
in a way that maximizes production and profits with minimal impact on 
the environment. The Blackland Research and Extension Center frequently 
collaborates with scientists in developing countries to assist them in 
finding better ways for farmers to manage their water, livestock, and 
grow crops to feed their growing populations.
  The value of research by the scientists stationed at the Temple 
Center is remarkable. The long-lasting partnerships between the State 
Land Grant Universities (Texas A&M AgriLife), and Federal Agencies 
(USDA Agricultural Research Service and Natural Resource Conservation 
Service), illustrate the superiority in effectiveness in partnerships 
when solving our agricultural and natural resource problems versus what 
individual agencies can do alone.

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