Later it became the Arkansas Valley Branch Station and the present name has been used since the mid-sixties. It is situated two miles east of Rocky Ford on Highway 50 at an altitude of 4178'. Irrigation water is diverted from the Arkansas River through the Rocky Ford Ditch and distributed on the farm using furrow or flood methods. The Center was established to serve the research needs of the irrigated farming area of southeast Colorado known as the Arkansas Valley, extending from Pueblo County on the west to the Kansas border. It also includes irrigated areas associated with the tributaries to the Arkansas River in El Paso, Huerfano and Las Animas counties.
Agricultural production includes livestock and field and vegetable crops.
Alfalfa, corn, dry beans, small grains, soybeans, sorghum, onions, melons, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes and peppers are representative of crops grown under irrigation. An Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory is housed at the Center and administered by the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and serves Southern Colorado.