The West River Research Farm is comprised of 111 acres located northwest of Sturgis. The farm was acquired by South Dakota State University in 2018. It focuses on agronomic and livestock research for conditions similar to those in western South Dakota. Researchers perform grazing, cover crop and variety trials. SDSU's statewide network of weather stations, called the Mesonet at SDSU, has a weather station located at the West River Research Farm.
This center comprises part of the SDSU Agricultural Experiment Station research infrastructure.