The importance of crops, forages, and livestock to the Texas High Plains has highlighted the need to develop systems that enhance profitability, improve conservation of soil and water resources, and expand marketing opportunities for a more sustainable agricultural system. In the late 1990s, a committed and dedicated team of researchers from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX took one of the first steps to begin exploring a systems approach to implement agricultural production alternatives that use less water. Researchers received a SSARE grant in 1997 to jump start those efforts.
The objective of the initial SARE grant, (LS97-082), “Sustainable Crop/Livestock Systems in the Texas High Plains,” was simple: Demonstrate that farmers can save water through an alternative production approach to monoculture cotton. This bulletin provides a summary of nearly two decades of sustainable agriculture systems research related to water conservation.
Want more information? See the related SARE grants:
- Sustainable Crop/Livestock Systems in the Texas High Plains (LS97-082)
- Forage and Livestock Systems for Sustainable High Plains Agriculture (LS02-131)
- Crop-livestock Systems for Sustainable High Plains Agriculture (LS08-202)
- Long-term AgroEcosystems Research and Adoption in the Texas Southern High Plains – Phase I (LS11-238)
- Long-term AgroEcosystems Research and Adoption in the Texas Southern High Plains – Phase II (LS14-261)