[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 13506]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




HONORING THE UNL PANHANDLE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION CENTER FOR 100 YEARS 
                               OF SERVICE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ADRIAN SMITH

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 20, 2010

  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, on Saturday, July 24, the 
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center 
will celebrate 100 years of service to Western Nebraska.
  It goes without saying agriculture is the lifeblood of Nebraska's 
Third District, and the entire state as well. The Third District of 
Nebraska encompasses 65,000 square miles. It is not unheard of for one 
area of the state to be dealing with drought conditions while another 
area is having flooding.
  This is exactly why this facility is so important to the panhandle of 
Nebraska. Western Nebraska grows a completely different set of crops 
from the eastern areas of our state. The land is different, the growing 
season is shorter, even the kinds of bugs and weeds are different. 
Timely and appropriate information and research can mean the difference 
between a successful growing season and a disappointing one.
  The original experimental substation was constructed on 160 acres 
provided by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture. By July 1910 an office and laboratory had been built, in 
addition to a barn, grain bin, machine shed and other structures. USDA 
managed the plots until 1948, when the land and management were turned 
over the State of Nebraska, and subsequently the University of 
Nebraska-Lincoln.
  Today, the Panhandle Research and Extension Center has over a dozen 
faculty members--most of which hold joint appointments in research and 
extension. Disciplines such as entomology, weed science, irrigation 
management, machinery systems, plant pathology, alternative crops, dry 
bean breeding, cow-calf production and range management, and 
entrepreneur and business development--among others--are represented.
  The Center has made a tremendous difference over the last 100 years, 
and I fully expect the impact to continue on long into the future.

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