Author
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FRANK, A - Collaborator |
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Submitted to: Laboratory Publication
Publication Type: Popular Publication Publication Acceptance Date: 4/24/2012 Publication Date: 4/16/2013 Citation: Frank, A.B. 2013. The taming of the prairie: A century of agricultural research at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory. Laboratory Publication. April 2013. p. 1-34. Interpretive Summary: The U.S. Congress authorized funding on August 8, 1912 to establish an agriculture plant, shrub, fruit, and ornamental tree, berry, and vegetable experiment station at or near Mandan, North Dakota on the northern Great Plains. Initially named the U.S. Great Plains Field Station, the research facility is now known as the USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory. The primary selection criterion for the site in 1912 was for soils that would be conductive to growing of trees for testing their suitability for shelterbelt planting on the Northern Great Plains prairie region. The research mission of the facility has changed several times during the 100 years since its founding and the laboratory now focuses on cropping systems, agricultural adaptation to climate change, biofuel crops, and rangeland management. The Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory is a modern research facility with a scientific and support staff that is highly qualified and equipped to continue solving the production and environmental problems facing the next generation of farmers and ranchers in the Northern Great Plains. Technical Abstract: Nearly a century after Congress authorized the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, it had approximately 35 employees and an annual budget of 3.4 million dollars. The long history of research accomplishments from the Laboratory have been well accepted by the agricultural community and have identified the Laboratory as a leader in scientific agricultural research. Documented accomplishments include the introduction of improved grass cultivars including Nordan crested wheatgrass, development and supply of trees for northern plains shelterbelts, release of fruit and ornamental trees, development of grazing systems, evaluation of breeds of dairy livestock for milk production, development of practices to inhibit saline seeps, development of dryland soil management and soil fertility practices, development of mined-land reclamation techniques, determination of suitability of land for irrigation agriculture, development of conservation tillage systems, and development of cropping systems using alternative crops. Detailed studies were also conducted that resulted in a wealth of scientific information that provided a better understanding of the processes necessary for sustaining crop yields and livestock production. These studies contributed to a better understanding of nutrient cycling, moisture conservation, erosion control, environmental constraints including management effects on trace gas emissions and accompanying climate change issues, grassland and crop carbon sequestration, growth staging for small grains management and grassland grazing readiness, genetics of native and introduced grasses, grassland establishment and renovation, plant-soil-water-environment relationships, plant disease resistance, nutritive value of annual and perennial forages for livestock, and decision support systems. The NGPRL is a modern research facility with a scientific and support staff that is highly qualified and equipped to continue solving the production and environmental problems facing the next generation of producers in the Northern Great Plains. |
