Progress in Agricultural Research at the North Central Substation

Abstract

Thousands of acres of farm land in the north central part of South Dakota have their productive future tied up with the 240 acres used for experimental research at the Substation at Eureka. Established nearly 50 years ago by the state legislature, which set aside state school lands for agricultural research, the North Central Substation is the proving ground for new agricultural methods and a living record of the accumulative effects of the old. As early as 1908, rotation experiments were started which became the first historical record in the northern plains area of the effects of cropping practices on the soil. At that time, the entire surrounding country was in wheat. There were no crop rotations, since the organic matter of the soil was good and the fertility level high. Also, there was no weed problem then. Later, the Experiment Station was to be accused of scattering weeds in one of the most interesting stories to be uncovered in the development of experimental research in this area. Foreseeing the time when the fertility of the land might become dangerously lowered by the practice of continuous cropping which was being carried on at that time, the Substation set up experimental plots. These included the basic crops of rotation-cultivated crops, small grain and legumes. In this case, the legume was sweet clover. (See more in Text