Board of Regents approves AgriTech Innovation Farm Hub for design
New facility to advance technology development, public-private collaboration and education
The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents has approved pre-construction services, including a design, for the planned AgriTech Innovation Farm Hub – a 10,000-square-foot, technologically advanced facility adjacent to the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at McGregor.
“The new hub facility will enhance capabilities at McGregor with a state-of-the-art, cyber-physical infrastructure, providing our world-class faculty and staff a dynamic system in which to develop new technologies that will impact the world,” said G. Cliff Lamb, Ph.D., director of Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
“The AgriTech Innovation Farm Hub will open doors for public-private collaborations and leading-edge innovations toward sustainable production systems, livelihoods for producers and training for the next generation of scientific leaders,” Lamb said.
The research station at McGregor currently encompasses 6,372 acres of fertile, rainfed cropland and natural areas containing wildlife. Researchers focus on beef cattle grazing and feedlot systems as well as sorghum, corn, cotton, wheat and small grains, and improved pasture species for grazing and hay production.
Advancement of research technology and next steps
The soon-to-be modernized research infrastructure on the site will boost data collection capabilities with sensors and the “Internet of Things” – a system of digitally connected objects sharing data about their environments.
The new facilities will aim to optimize production, environmental health and natural resources management, as researchers hope to break longstanding barriers to sustainable production systems.
The new facility will include a 10-gigabit network and 5G capabilities, office space, field labs, a greenhouse, temporary living quarters, multipurpose rooms, conferencing technology and a catering area.
The Board of Regents will consider a design of the AgriTech Innovation Farm Hub for construction at a later meeting in 2025.
