The Texas A&M AgriLife Research & Extension Center at Vernon is located in Vernon, TX, in an area known as the Texas Rolling Plains. The Vernon Research & Extension Center also includes two satellite centers, Chillicothe and Smith-Walker.
The Vernon Center is home to research and extension education programs in environmental systems management, water quality, food, feed, fiber, and biofuel production, animal nutrition and health, rangeland restoration, agricultural resource economics, and natural resource conservation and protection.
Animal Nutrition & Rangeland
Sustainable production of animal protein from agricultural ecosystems in a soil to sirloin or pasture to plate perspective.
Cropping Systems & Physiology
Research that results in higher crop profitability, reduced environmental impact, and resource security.
Forage & Ornamental Breeding
Known for unique colors in hibiscus breeding, this team produces cool-season perennial forage grasses that are resilient to climate change in the Southern Great Plains.
Develop and evaluate strategies to conserve soil and water, enhance crop water productivity, and protect soil and water quality.
Grazing Ecology & Management
Ranch-scale and multi-county assessments to determine best practices for rangeland management.
Natural Resources Economics
This team studies the economic impact of human decisions on agriculture & natural resource management.
This team seeks to understand plant processes to better predict their response to changes in climate and land management.
Soil Environmental Science
Protects water resources while maintaining agricultural production goals.
Designing wheat varieties that can adapt to different regions and management programs in Texas.
Specialty & Organic Crops
The Specialty and Organic Crop Breeding program at the Texas A&M AgriLife Center in Vernon aims to develop specialty crop cultivars that are uniquely suitable to organic cropping systems in Texas and beyond. The program seeks to advance human understanding of the genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underlying important agricultural traits, to lead the development of better organic crop cultivars.