Demand functions for teaching, research and extension (TRE) personnel in seven administrative units of U.S. agricultural experiment stations are estimated from panel data, decennial observations, 1950 to 1987. The results suggest that the TRE staffing during the 1950s and 1960s was smaller than predicted but that the catching up process was in large part completed during the 1970s. Although there is no sign of an unexplained decrease in TRE demand during the 1980s, prospects of zero growth during the 1990s implies a substantial reduction in replacement demand for new Ph.Ds compared to earlier times. Zero growth has implications for the design of Ph.D programs since the majority of future graduates will find employment outside of experiment stations and associated colleges.