[5] Initially, the university did not offer any agricultural classes, leading to protests by farmer groups and much of college's leadership being replaced.

With the ample land available in the West, most farmers had little incentive to adopt intensive farming methods and other advanced agricultural technologies.

For most observers, however, the biggest issue was that no solid agricultural research on which to base the practical teaching was being attempted, so to fill this need, Congress passed the Hatch Experiment Station Act of 1887, which provided funding for agricultural experiment stations in each state.

[3] Through its research, the organization helped eradicate Texas fever, a bovine disease spread by ticks that threatened the state's cattle industry.

It helped produce a mild jalapeño pepper ('TAM'), increasing the sales of salsa, and 'BetaSweet' carrots which have higher levels of beta carotene.

Its animal researchers helped produce gene mapping resources for cattle, and lead to the cloning of the first calf.