New ideas, new technology, new products and new regulations mean crop producers must quickly assess how well these changes could be implemented on their farms, and if they will, in fact, benefit their operation. But few farmers have the resources to put new concepts to a thorough, extensive, sometimes expensive, test. The project began in 1989 when the Lamesa Cotton Growers, a producer organization, agreed to provide the land and additional support enabling the Experiment Station to conduct research on full- size fields which then serve as a teaching arena for educational programs by the Extension Service. The first crops were planted in 1990. In 1995, an adjacent 80 acres of dryland was used.
Producers serve on the farm's steering committee and help decide on research projects.
Field days, demonstration tours and media visits help growers learn what the scientists find in their research.