Great gains in 100 years Timeline of events in SROC history
OPINION
1911 Minnesota Legislature appropriated funds to establish two demonstration farms where local problems could be explored by Department of Agriculture personnel. 1912 A committee representing the state, the Board of Regents of the University of Minnesota and the Department of Agriculture selected and purchased 246 acres just west and south of Waseca naming it the Southeast Demonstration Farm and Experiment Station of the University of Minnesota. The land was purchased from R.P. and D. Ward at $125/acre. 1913 First year of operations at the Southeast Demonstration Farm and Experiment Station. Albert Hoversten employed as “farm manager” and served as first superintendent of station, 1913-18. 1919 R.E. Hodgson appointed superintendent. Served 1919-60. 1925 Name changed from “Southeast Demonstration Farm and Experiment Station” to “Southeast Experiment Station.” 1940 Station size increased by purchase of 351 acres of land purchased from D., E., and V. Ward for $40,000.
1950-71 Purchased additional 20.75 acres of miscellaneous land from E. and V. Ward and W. and R. Papke and E. F. and Ethel Johnson. 1953 Southern School of Agriculture enrolled first class in January 1953. 1960 Deane A. Turner appointed superintendent of the Southern School and Experiment Station. Served 1960 through 1963. 1964 Edward C. Frederick appointed superintendent of the Southern School and Experiment Station. Served 1964-70. 1969 Legislative action called for phase-out of the Southern School of Agriculture and for creation of a technical college. The new college and the Southern Experiment Station were established as separate administrative units. 1970 Richard H. Anderson appointed superintendent of the Southern Experiment Station. Served 1970-90. 1972 Purchase of 232 acres of land from K. and J. Priebe, at a cost of $145,000, brought the total University land holdings at Waseca to approximately 850 acres.
1982 An advisory committee was commissioned with 15 charter members to “advise the SES on research and related agricultural or other needs.” 1990 David D. Walgenbach appointed superintendent of the Southern Experiment Station. Served 1990-2000. 1994 Purchased 120 acres of land from K. and J. Stendel, at a cost of $162,000 and an additional 80 acres from K. and M. Krassin, at a cost of $108,000. Property named the Agricultural Ecology Research Farm. 1994-95 Relinquished 95 acres of University land to Federal Correctional Institution, reducing land holdings to approximately 955 acres. 1999 Name of Southern Experiment Station changed to Southern Research and Outreach Center. 2001 Forrest T. Izuno appointed head of the Southern Research and Outreach Center 2008 Roughly 29 acres sold to Minnesota Department of Transportation as right-of-way for Highway 14 bypass, reducing total land holdings to approximately 926 acres.
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renewable energy, bio-product development and mitigating environmental impacts. Buhr rattled off a number of statistics — such as the leap over the past 100 years in average corn yields from 30 bushels per acre to 156 bu./acre — as a testament to the dedication of men and women at university research centers across Minnesota, Iowa and elsewhere. It’s impossible to know what the next 100 years will bring, but if public investment in agronomic research continues, and the spirit of Borlaug’s work remains alive, my daughter’s generation and those to follow need never go hungry. Several books have been written on Borlaug’s life and achievements, including Leon Hesser’s “The Man Who Fed the World: Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and His Battle to End World Hunger.” Check your local library or online bookstore for this book and others. For more information on the Southern Research and Outreach Center, log on to http://sroc.cfans.umn.edu. Tom Royer is assistant editor of The Land. He may be reached at troyer@TheLandOnline.com. ❖
THE LAND, SEPTEMBER 27, 2013
LAND MINDS, from pg. 2A sonally worked with Borlaug. The humanitarian’s giant impact on agriculture and world hunger aside, SROC’s centennial was marked by a wide variety of entertainment and education. Visitors had been invited to bring garden or field plant samples for identification and insect or disease diagnoses. Such public outreach is nothing new to the Waseca site. Bohnsack said that, as a child, he had visited the center with his father, who brought a problematic weed for agronomists there to identify — it was foxtail. Guests at SROC’s centennial party were treated to free food, a corn-husking contest, horsedrawn trolley rides, a corn maze, games and projects for children, beautifully produced historical displays, and a visit from none other than Goldy Gopher. But despite all the entertainment and family friendly activities going on at the celebration, the bottom line at a place like SROC needs to be hard results to justify the public’s investment. Research today focuses on increasing crop and animal production efficiencies, while also including projects related to
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Source: University of Minnesota Southern Research and Outreach Center website
“Where Farm and Family Meet”