Recent Publications (about the history of the station):
- The Role of the Ranch Experiment Station in the Edwards Plateau – (Sonora Station Bulletin, 04/2016)
- Sonora Experiment Station Head Recaps 45 Years at the Helm – (Livestockweekly.com, 03/24/16)
- A Century Later, Sonora Station Still Ranchers’ Research Station – (Livestockweekly.com, 04/07/16)
Historical Publications:
- Early History of Substation No. 14 – (Vol. 7, No. 18; published June 1937)
- The Birth of Substation No. 14 – (as told by B.M. Halbert)
Pioneer Ranchers who helped establish the Sonora Station
The Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, once know to ranchers as the Ranch Experiment Station and to Texas A&M University as “Substation” Number 14” got its start during the 1915 inaugural convention of the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers’ Association in Del Rio. The year prior to the convention had been extremely dry in Sutton and Edwards Counties, and several ranching friends struggling through the drought found themselves mysteriously losing their livestock. These farsighted pioneers discussed the possibility of having an experiment station nearby to help them with ranch management problems. The idea quickly gained support from other ranchers and was soon adopted by the fledgling Texas Sheep 
and Goat Raisers’ Association.
The Association then mustered help from Texas A&M University and the Texas Legislature who quickly established the station later that same year between Sonora and Rock Springs.