Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station records

The Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station records contain materials concerning research, administration, operations, teaching, and events at the St. Paul and Greater Minnesota stations between 1883 and 2010. The collection consists of correspondence, much of which is interfiled with minutes, reports, project proposals and agreements, planning documents, conference programs and proceedings, data on crops, land use and station expenditures, staffing and personnel concerns, and documentation about departments involved in station activities, publications and government documents. There is also substantial information documenting the administrative history and findings of agriculture-related research projects funded by federal, state and private sources carried out at the Experiment Stations. The inclusive date range for the collection is 1883-2010; bulk dates are 1924-1999.

The collection is arranged into ten series:

Series 1, Administration, contains correspondence between outstate station directors, departmental faculty, St. Paul station directors and staff, and University administration regarding station activities, programs, buildings and resources, state and federal governments units. The series is broadly organized by subseries identified d by the named department, college or institute that represented the University’s agriculture-related activities. This includes the Department of Agriculture (1872-1963), Institute of Agriculture (1963-1971); Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics (1971-1997); and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science (1997-2006).

Series 2, Alphabetical Reference Files, contain subject-related material generated primarily during and between WWI and WWII and its aftermath (1917-1948). Materials include agreements pertaining to research conducted at the station, correspondence with business, professional and academic associations, conference materials, information on conscientious objectors working at the station during WWII, financial records, historical information about the station and named persons associated with the station, including vice-directors F.R. Immer and F.W. Peck and director Edward Porter, legislation related to agricultural research and production, agricultural fraternities, and station relations with the USDA.

Series 3, Committees, contains correspondence, minutes, and reports for station and University committees, as well as selected staff files of government, professional, and academic association committee work. Bulk dates for the subseries are 1940-2000. There is a substantial amount of correspondence and reports generated by ESCOP (Experiment Station Committee on Organization and Policy) which coordinated collaborative projects across state borders. The St. Paul Experiment Station Director was a standing member of the committee.

Series 4, Correspondence and Related Materials, consists of professional correspondence and related materials, including memos, brief reports, policy drafts and speeches of MAES directors and administrators from the 1930s through 2010. MAES directors also served as deans of the Department of Agriculture (1921-1963), Institute of Agriculture (1963-1974), Institute of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics (1974-1995), and College of Agriculture, Food, and Home Economics (1995-2006). Researchers will find correspondence from administrators serving in both capacities in this series. Substantial correspondence from William Hueg (Director, MAES, 1966-1975; Dean, IAFHE 1974-1983) and Richard Sauer (Director, MAES, 1980-1988; Dean, IAFHE, 1983-1988), and Eugene Allen (Director, MAES, 1988-1998, Dean, IAFHE, 1989-1995) is included here. Other deans and directors correspondence represented in the series include Harold Macy, Sherwood Berg, and Hubert Sloan; substantial correspondence from Roy L. Thompson, MAES Assistant Director, Signe Betsinger, associate dean of the College of Home Economics and assistant director of the Agricultural Experiment Station, and Richard Anderson, superintendent of the Southern Experiment Station in Waseca can also be found here. Most correspondence relates to administrative or staffing issues, planning and finance.

Series 5, Data, includes raw data for crops and farm products; production data from different demonstration farms across Minnesota; financial data for stations; and descriptive data concerning farm machinery, building and equipment inventories and miscellaneous surveys. Bulk dates, 1922-1943.

Series 6, Organizations, consists of correspondence, reports, minutes, bulletins and brochures documenting communication between government agencies, business and policy groups with regulatory and/or research ties to the Experiment Stations. Bulk dates, 1963-1985.

Series 7, Publications and Reports, is divided into two subseries, Alphabetical and General. The Alphabetical subseries contains historical publications covering research conducted from 1900 through 1945. The General subseries contains branch station annual reports, research reports, and information on professional staff activities in addition to traditional publications. Inclusive dates, 1915-2003.

Series 8, Research, constitutes the largest series in the collection. It consists of research proposals and accompanying correspondence submitted by station and department faculty relating to projects funded initially by the Bankhead-Jones Act of 1935. The act provided funding for agricultural projects at land-grant institutions. In addition to Bankhead-Jones identified projects, the series includes proposals for projects concerning crops, farm machinery, products, and storage, poultry and livestock, horticulture and collaborative work with corporate partners. Other subject matter in the series includes research policy, expenditures, programs and needs. Researchers using the materials should be aware that many of the projects were conducted as collaborations between stations, departments and outside business partners. Only the principal partner is listed in the finding aid arrangement. Subseries consist of the following headings: Animal Research; Drought Research; Home Economics; Mayo Forestry and Horticultural Institute; North Central Experiment Station/Grand Rapids; Northeast Experiment Station/Duluth; Northwest Experiment Station/ Crookston; Potato Research; Sand Plains/Becker; Southern Experiment Station/ Waseca; Southwest Experiment Station/ Lamberton; St. Paul/ Departmental; USDA/CRIS (US Department of Agriculture/Current Research Information System); West Central Experiment Station/Morris; Western Region.

Series 9, Subject Files, includes miscellaneous subject matter dated between 1883 and the late 1990s. Of note are two volumes of diaries written by Edward M. Porter, appointed University Professor of Theory and Practice of Agriculture in 1881 and widely acknowledged as the first director of the College of Agriculture and founder of the School of Agriculture at University Farm in St. Paul.

Series 10, Veterinary Division, contains materials from the veterinary-related activities at the station. The series contains some of the oldest and earliest material in the collection, including 15 folders of correspondence and notes from M.H. Reynolds, animal veterinarian at the University Farm. The series is composed of four subseries: correspondence, manuscripts, clippings and miscellaneous files.

Researchers should also consult the finding aids for the individual Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station collections for additional information about administration, research, campus issues and events, as well as information on the station schools.