UW’s Laramie Research and Extension Center Releases Annual Research Report

The University of Wyoming’s Laramie Research and Extension Center (LREC) has released a comprehensive digital report detailing its teaching, research and extension activities in 2023.

24 people, most of them wearing name tags on red lanyards stand in a grassy pasture with blue sky and clouds overhead — In 2023, the UW College of Agriculture, Life Sciences and Natural Resources co-hosted the America’s Grasslands Conference tour in partnership with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). A total of 26 people from across the U.S. and Canada participated in the event, which featured presentations on plant and animal diversity, grazing management, carbon sampling, and sheep and beef cattle research at LREC. Photo courtesy of LREC.

As the largest of the Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station’s four research and extension centers, LREC supports a diverse variety of educational and research opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and community members. In addition to livestock facilities for cattle, sheep, horses, and swine, located off Highway 230, LREC also maintains extensive greenhouse facilities in town and a rangeland study site at the McGuire Ranch northeast of Laramie.

“This report highlights a unique UW facility that serves students, researchers, and farmers and ranchers in Wyoming,” says Derek Scasta, LREC associate director and UW Extension rangeland management specialist.

He revitalized the annual report as a means to share the center’s contributions with Wyoming residents across the state. Unlike previous reports, the 2023 edition highlights student activities and community-focused programs as well as research projects.

“The proximity to campus makes LREC extremely important for experiential learning for students,” Scasta explains. “LREC also hosts ram and bull performance tests, which are important for livestock producers in the region.”

In addition to these annual outreach programs, LREC regularly hosts 4-H, FFA, and collegiate judging teams and provides instructional space for animal science, botany, plant sciences, and rangeland ecology classes. In 2023, the center even partnered with the National Wildlife Federation to host America’s Grasslands Conference Tour.

At 7,220 feet in elevation, LREC is a national leader in research on high-altitude livestock and crop production as well as rangeland management. In 2023, student and faculty researchers explored pulmonary hypertension in cattle, ruminant nutrition, songbird populations in pastures, forage production, applications of precision agriculture technologies, the relationship between grazing and soil carbon, controlled environment agriculture, and more.

To view a free, downloadable copy of the 2023 LREC report, visit https://bit.ly/lrec-report-23. Limited print copies are available at LREC, located at 470 Highway 230.

Scasta anticipates publishing a 2024 research report in early 2025. Contact him at jscasta@uwyo.edu or (307) 766-2337 with questions.