Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory

Map to our location

Welcome to the Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory.  The Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory is located in the Southern Plains Area of the United States Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service.  The Grassland Soil & Water Research Laboratory is comprised of two research units: the Natural Resources Systems Research Unit and the Grasslands Protections Research Unit.

The mission of the Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory is to develop technology for maximizing forage and crop production; reducing uncertainty regarding the effects of global change on agriculture; controlling non-economic brush and weeds; and solving problems relating to efficient use of soil and water, crop production, soil fertility, erosion, hydrology, and water quality.  The mission is achieved through simulation modeling and experimental research by a multi-disciplinary staff of scientists and engineers organized into the two research units.

The research of the Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory is enhanced by the cooperation with scientists and staff of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Natural Resource Conservation Service.  The cooperating entities are co-located on the Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory complex.  The Grassland Soil and Water Laboratory is located in Temple, TX in the heart of the Texas Blackland Prairie.  The federal facilities include approximately 100,000 square feet of office and laboratory workspace coupled with 440 acres of local research lands and approximately 840 more acres located in Riesel, TX.