Southwest Research & Extension Center

Research Focus

The Center provides research-based results in the areas of beef cattle, plant pathology, horticulture and forestry that positively impact food, fiber, and bioenergy production, especially for southwest Arkansas. Horticultural research in fruits, vegetables, ornamentals, and grasses includes evaluations on fruit breeding lines and ornamental landscape plants, and trials on commercial horticulture like cover crops, IPM tomatoes, and high tunnel strawberries and blackberries. Plant pathology studies include disease research on a variety of field crops such as wheat, soybeans, and cotton.  Beef and forages research concentrates on nutrition and management of beef cattle, and interactions with forages common to the region.

Learn about Southwest forestland management plans
Southwest Forestry Management Plan >

Facts

• Encompasses 1,185 acres located in Hempstead County about 3 miles northeast of Hope, AR
• Has a 200-cow beef cattle research and demonstration herd and about 700 acres of timberland used for forestry research conducted collaboratively with the Arkansas Forest Resources Center at UAM
• Horticultural research, primarily small fruit and tree fruit crops, and agronomic crop (wheat, soybean, cotton, and corn) research are conducted annually
• Home to the Arkansas Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory that provides statewide nematode assay and identification services
• Soils are mainly fine sandy loams with the Bowie and Sacul soil series being the predominant series with some finer-textured soils including the Una silty clay loam in some of the lower-lying areas
• Located within the West Gulf Coastal Plains physiographic soil region

Resources

• The staff consists of the Center Director, 1 faculty, nematode lab director, 2 program technicians, 5 farm and research support staff, and 2 administrative support staff
• Meeting facility with seating capacity for 150
• Arkansas Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory with approximately 3,100 sq. ft. of laboratory space equipped with a semi-automatic elutriator, compound and dissecting microscopes, autoclave, low-speed centrifuges, 150 sq. ft. walk-in cooler, and a clean area with laminar flow hood for microbiological work
• 150 permanent concrete micro-plots for soil ecology research
• 2400 sq. ft. forage research laboratory with drying ovens, frozen storage, and bench space for feed and forage analysis
• 2,100 sq. ft. of greenhouse space
• 200 sq. ft. environmentally-controlled plant growth room
• Three 30 ft. × 60 ft. high tunnels
• 20 acres for horticultural and agronomic crops research equipped with a drip irrigation and fenced for deer control
• Field and specialized research equipment for crop planting, maintenance, irrigation, and harvest
• Stocker Unit consisting of 115 acres of pasture, divided into 36 2-acre pastures as well as 6 larger pastures for replicated research
• 12-pen feedlot facility with 60-72 head capacity.
• Cow-Calf Unit has 253 acres with automatic watering devices and movable electric fencing.
• Cow-Calf Unit has 10 replicated 10-acre pastures for research
• Both Cow-Calf and Stocker Unit have modern livestock handling facility with tub-type chute system, electronic scales, and hydraulic working chute all under roof inside an 18 x 24-meter metal building, and 20 sorting pens at the Stocker unit and 13 at the Cow-Calf Unit.

History

In 1923, the Arkansas General Assembly authorized the creation of the Fruit and Truck Branch Experiment Station devoted to the “investigational work relative to the problems of fruit and truck farmers.”The term “truck farmer” describes a small-scale farmer who grows enough food to take to market. The”investigational work” included testing fruit and vegetable varieties, soils and soil management, crop rotation, livestock and poultry, “and any other crops adapted to such system of farming together with the economic problems of the farmers of that section.”State funding was provided in 1925, and 185 acres of unimproved farmland typical of the region was acquired by the Agricultural Experiment Station in December 1926. Located on U.S. 67 (Bankhead Highway) just 3miles northeast of Hope, the land acquisition was made possible through donations of 37 businesses and 49individuals of Hope. Work at the Branch Station began in 1929.

In the beginning, fruits and vegetables were the crops of interest since the surrounding area was known for watermelons and strawberries. By 1930, there were 1,200 experimental plots covering fruits, vegetables, and some agronomic crops. In 1938, the Farm Woodlot Study was initiated, which demonstrated the selection management for small woodlots and their productivity.

By 1960 agriculture changed in the region. Fruits and vegetables lost their places as other major agricultural enterprises such as forestry, agronomic crops, and beef cattle production began to gain dominance. The station was also renamed the Southwest Branch Station at this time to reflect the change.

To meet the new demand, the Agricultural Experiment Station leased the 1,000-acre Spencer Tract in 1961 allowing for the establishment of a research herd of about 400 head. Pastures were subdivided into research paddocks based on cool-season grass, legume, and nutrition research. A Beef Bull Performance Testing facility consisting of 40 stalls was built in 1962 and later expanded in 1972 to add another 20 stalls.

The Spencer Tract allowed forestry research to expand into Christmas trees, competition control, pest control, and nutritional studies. Row crop research expanded into the evaluation of corn, grain sorghum, and soybean varieties along with associated cultural and nutritional studies. Although greatly diminished, the horticulture research did result in muscadine culture, varieties of dwarf crepe myrtles, and the little-leaf cucumber during this period.

The Southwest Branch Station was renamed the Southwest Research & Extension Center (SWREC) in 1981, leading to the stationing of a Ph.D.-level Extension forester and the hiring of assistant professors of Plant Pathology, Forages, and Agronomic Crops. In 1971, the Spencer Tract was purchased, and in 1982 construction was completed on a new office building. The old office building was converted into a laboratory. The State Nematode Laboratory was moved to SWREC in 1990. Beef bull testing was halted in 1994, and the facility transformed into an experimental feedlot which assists in the understanding of nutrition, meat quality, and profitability of cattle operations.