The Colorado State University research center in Fruita looks similar to other farm operations in the valley, except these workers have another full time job on top of planting, growing, and harvesting crops. Researchers gather data on water usage, nutrient quality of the crops they grow and even the temperature of the soil two feet underground. All this information is vital for CSU projects that look to make agriculture more efficient in a semi-arid environment. “[There’s] processing and sampling those crops and then sending them off for analysis.It’s really like working on your own farm, but add in the data part of it,” said Michael Lobato, a CSU researcher. He drives around in a golf cart, irrigating his hay field, and recording exactly how much water is applied to the two halves of the experiment. One half is regular farm ground, the other half has a supplement added into the soil. That’s the side Lobato hopes will be just as healthy, but with less water.