Research Facilities
Clayton Livestock Research Center
Scientists at the Clayton Livestock Research Center conduct research on shipping protocols for cattle, particularly evaluating the health and performance of newly received cattle and nutrition and management from feedlot to slaughter. Other research involves irrigated pastures and native grasslands, including grazing and stocking densities on locoweed-infested pastures.
Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center
The Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) consisting of nearly 64,000 acres is located 20 miles north of Las Cruces and is a major source of arid lands research. Since its establishment in 1927, the CDRRC has been an important part of the "educational, demonstrative, and experimental development in the study of livestock, grazing methods, and range forage."
The Corona Ranch and Livestock Research Center
The Corona Range and Livestock Research Center (CRLRC) is located in the southeast central portion of New Mexico approximately 8 miles northeast of Corona, NM. The center occupies area in both Lincoln and Torrance counties. It covers approximately 43.47 square miles (27,830 acres or 11,262 hectares). Elevations on the ranch range from 6,700 feet (2,042 meters) on the top of the mesa in the extreme southwestern corner of the Mesa Pasture to 5,720 feet (1,743 meters) in the extreme southeastern corner of East Johnson Pasture. Rangeland and livestock research utilizing primarily beef cattle and sheep is conducted on the ranch, as we as research on the flora. The Corona ranch is an example of a short grass prairie ecosystem.
The Range Science Herbarium
The Range Science Herbarium at New Mexico State University is administered through the Department of Animal and Range Sciences, College of Agriculture, and is separate from the larger Biology Herbarium (NMC) in the College of Arts and Sciences. The Range Science Herbarium houses about 20,000 specimens, about half of them grasses, emphasizing the flora of New Mexico. The collection is especially rich in Aristida and Bothriochloa, as well as being the voucher depository for several floristic and systematic studies of the past several years.
The holdings of the herbarium are composed mostly of collections by Kelly W. Allred, curator since 1979, and associated graduate students. In addition, a significant number were contributed by K.W. Parker and J.O. Bridges in the 1930s and 1940s. Earlier collections by the staff of the University, particularly E.O. Wooton and P.C. Standley, are found in the Biology Herbarium (NMC).