Location

Located in Scottsbluff, we house 16 faculty of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR). Most of the faculty hold joint appointments in research and extension.

History

In 1909, the University of Nebraska Experiment Station and the USDA jointly homesteaded a quarter section of land five miles east of Mitchell, NE. Initial research was in the area of crop production under gravity irrigation. Studies in sheep, swine, dairy, and beef production, in addition to many other crop areas, soon followed. The 800-acre Experimental Range in Sioux County was deeded to the University of Nebraska by President Woodrow Wilson in 1918. Satellite agricultural laboratories at Alliance (since closed) and Sidney, NE, were added in 1967.

The headquarters of the Panhandle Station moved to the former Hiram Scott College campus after the state had acquired the property after the school closed in the early 1970s. The headquarters and surrounding research plots are located just north of the city of Scottsbluff. To reflect the University's involvement throughout the Panhandle, the name was officially changed to the Panhandle Research and Extension Center in 1985.

County-based Extension Offices in western Nebraska

The Panhandle Center works hand-in-hand with county-based offices to share research-based information with residents of western Nebraska:

Box Butte County
308-762-5616
415 Black Hills Street, Alliance, NE 69301

Central Sandhills (Blaine, Grant, Hooker, Thomas)
308-645-2267
503 Main St., PO Box 148, Thedford, NE 69166-0148

Cherry County
402-376-1850
365 N. Main, Suite 3, PO Box 48, Valentine, NE 69201-0048

Cheyenne County
308-254-4455
Box 356, Sidney, NE 69162

Dawes County
308-432-3373
250 Main St., Suite 8, Chadron, NE 69337

Deuel County
308-874-2705
Box 645, Chappell, NE 69129

Garden County
308-772-3311 
Box 350, Oshkosh, NE 69154

Kimball-Banner County
308-235-3122
209 E. Third, Kimball, NE 69145

Morrill County
308-262-1022
514 Main, Bridgeport, NE 69336

Scotts Bluff County
308-632-1480
4502 Avenue I, Scottsbluff, NE 69361

Sheridan County
308-327-2312
Box 329, Rushville, NE 69360 

Sioux County
308-668-2428 
Box 227, Harrison, NE 69346