University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center
Dates
- Existence: 1903-
Biography
The Legislature of 1903 appropriated fifteen thousand dollars for the establishment of a substation west of the 100th meridian in Nebraska. The purpose of this station, according to the bill passed, being to "determine the adaptability of the arid and semiarid portions of Nebraska to agriculture, horticulture, and forest tree growing, such as the production of grain, grasses, root crops, and fruits of kinds commonly grown in the same latitude in other States, also the most economical methods of producing such crops without irrigation". Acting under the authority granted by this act, the Regents of the University and after careful consideration and examination of a number of sites in different localities of the state, accepted a proposition from the Citizens' Committee of North Platte by which a tract of 1920 acres of land three miles south of North Platte was purchased for an experimental substation, the people in the vicinity of North Platte donating eight thousand dollars, a considerable part of the purchase price.
The North Platte station is well adapted to the purposes for which it is intended. It contains about 270 acres of bench land under an irrigation ditch, about 150 acres of level table-land with an elevation of nearly 3000 feet, and 1500 acres of rough pasture land covered with buffalo and other grasses, suitable for experiments in the maintenance and improvement of grazing lands. It is hoped that this experiment station will be able to assist in solving important problems relative to the agriculture of the central and western part of the state.
In the early years, the station was divided loosely into departments of Agronomy, Horticulture, Animal Pathology, and Husbandry, and Dairy. Limited funds for the operation of the station prevented complete departmentalization until many years later.
It was renamed the University of Nebraska West Central Research & Extension.
The superintendents of the North Platte Experiment Station are as follows:
William P.Snyder 1904-1934
Leslie L. Zook 1934-1945
James C. Adams 1946-1965
Leslie F. Sheffield 1966-1971
Leo E. Lucas 1972-
Don Adams
Found in 5 Collections and/or Records:
North Platte Station, Agricultural Experiment Station Records
Reports, North Platte Experiment Station Records
The collection consists of reports from the Agricultural Experiment Station in North Platte, Nebraska.
Research Files, North Platte Experiment Station Records
The collection includes research files and correspondence related to alkali; beef and dairy cattle; hogs; buffalo; elk; cereal crops; potatoes; Russian dandelions; soils and soil moisture; irrigation; forestry; field days; judging contests; master farmers programs; weather; Kalo experiments; and speeches and articles by L.L. Zook.
Superintendent Correspondence, North Platte Experiment Station Records
Superintendent's Records, North Platte Experiment Station Records
The collection relates to the operations of the North Platte Experiment Station and includes: correspondence, reports, publications, photographs, public relations materials and press releases, memorandums, minutes, employee information, inventories, contracts, budgets, annual reports, histories, and faculty biographies.
Additional filters:
- Subject
- Agriculture--Experimentation 4
- Agriculture 2
- Photographs 1