Over a Century of Progress

AFES

PAST

FUTURE

PRESENT

In the beginning...

In 1862, Morrill Act authorized establishment of Land-Grant Universities

In 1878, Mississippi Legislature established Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical

College

In 1880, General Stephen D. Lee became the first president of the

Mississippi A & M College, now

Mississippi State University

Stephen D. LeePresident of A & M College

(1880-1898)

Stephen D. Lee• Ordered first shot fired on Fort Sumter• 100 battlefields testifyto his courage and genius• Graduate of West Point• First President of MSU• Father of Industrial Education in the South• Required education and manual labor together• Warned Mississippians to learn science of agriculture

or land would be owned by others• MS supplied every other Southern state with trained

teachers in agronomy, horticulture and chemistry• Years ahead of his time, he set the pace for industrial

development

March 2, 1887 - The system was launched by U.S. Congress by

passage of the Hatch Act

January 31, 1888 - Mississippi Legislature established the State Agricultural Experiment Station to be located at the A and M College

near Starkville

Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1890

Director Samuel Tracey’s first staff was a total of 11 -

general agriculturalists, horticulturists, chemists,

a veterinarian,

a meteorologist, and

a treasurer

Samuel TracyMAFES Director (1888-1897)

Class of 1900

First budget $15,000 all in federal funds

What is unique about Experiment Station Research?

Targeted

Mission Driven

Stakeholder Involvement

Partnerships

USDA-ARS

Early experiments included simple crop rotations and use of manure on fields sapped by

years of cotton

25 cotton and 44 corn varieties were evaluated in 1889

and an statewide outbreak of charbon (anthrax) in mules was

helped by the station veterinarian

Three to four station bulletins were issued annually on subjects

such as cotton worm control, livestock feeding, and fruits and

vegetables

Excellent butter and cheese was produced from the station’s

cows and three new barns were constructed for $1000

300 cheese were made first year and more than 117,000 in 1999

Edam cheese mold (from Holland)

ordered by F.H. Herzer in 1938

By 1890, off campus research was located at Lake, Holly Springs, and Ocean Springs

Some of the early equipment used

1900 - Working force numbered about the same as initially and legislature established first branch experiment station at McNeill with $6500

per year for 2 years

Other branches went into operation at Stoneville and Holly Springs, Natchez, Raymond and

Crystal Springs

In the first 13 years, 97 bulletins were issued the state was eradicating Texas fever ticks

Farmers’ Institutes had increased to 200 annually

As the years passed, research continued on how to build good roads, agricultural products were

being sold, and fees were imposed for some services

THEN

Names such as E.R. Lloyd, J.R. Ricks, Clarence Dorman,

Tait Butler, A.B. McKay

were the scientists and leaders of the day

Lloyd-Ricks

A.B. McKay

Dorman Hall

NOW

At the end of World War I, the staff had increased to 40

Woodrow Wilson, 28th President (1913-1921)

First in the nation to conduct research in home economics,

Dorothy Dickens published on the food habits of

Mississippians in 1927 and “Market Basket of Wisdom”

appeared in 1929Dorothy Dickens

Agriculture expansion changed to agricultural policy

Herbert Hoover31st President (1929-1933)

During the first 40 years the generalists were enhanced by specialists such as botanists,

physicists, etc.

Venus Flytrap

Prism

MSU President Humphrey’s

biennial report to the college board in

June 1942...

President Humphrey

At the end of World War II, the “unbelievably large contributions” that the experiment station made to agriculture despite the shortages of men and supplies were recognized by state and federal

government

General Eisenhower and President Harry Truman working in the Oval Office, 1945

In mid 1940’s William Baker

Andrews and Felix Edwards pioneered

use of anhydrous ammonia as fertilizer

Felix EdwardsWilliam B. Andrews

1 st Production ModelInternational Harvester cotton picker,

Delta Station, 1944

Late 1940’s Legislature establishes

5 branch experiment stations

Cooperation with the teaching programs coupled with research and science provided by the experiment station

resulted in the authorization of the first Ph.D. programs at MSU in 1951

The first Ph.D. was awarded in 1953 in

Agronomy, 21 of the first 25, 75% of the first 50,

and 65% of the first 100 were graduate students of

experiment station scientists

President Ben Hilbun congratulated the first two recipients of the Ph.D. from Mississippi State College

State’s First Ph.D.’s

Principal Research contributions to Agricultural Aviation

Delta Boeing 767

Examples of Notable Advances in Last Forty Years

CatfishSoybean

Cotton

Engineering

Rice

In 1968, recognition of excellent immunology research, resulted in the only NSF-funded

building on campus

Hill Poultry Science Building

Edgar HartwigSoybean Breeder

USDA, ARS

1948-1996

29 varieties

Impact of Fast Fruiting, Early-Maturing Cotton Cultivars on the Economy of Mississippi

DES Genetic material is in 95% of Midsouth Cotton Cultivars

• Fast-fruiting• Early-maturing• DES genes in background

Bob Bridge

Average Yearly Economic Impact of DES Cotton on Mississippi Economy $41,000,000

3,400

3,600

3,800

4,000

4,200

4,400

4,600

4,800

4,064

4,612

4,226 4,190

3,7243,672

3,603 3,575

Lb/Acre

1997 On Farm Variety TestsTwo Year Average

Milled Head Rice Yield

Variety

LemontPriscilla

LaGrue

Kaybonnet

Drew

Cypress

Litton

Jefferson

Jackson

4,141

Engineering

In 1974Legislature created College of Veterinary Medicine

MAFES established a service unit named MAFES Remote Sensing Center

Seed Production & Conditioning

MO Role and Use on Soybeans

Backgrounding Programs for Cattle

Marshall Ryegrass

Development of New Industry

MS

59%

LA 8%

AR

15%

AL

12%

Other

6%

Percent Water Surface AcresPercent Water Surface Acresin Catfish Production - Jan 1999in Catfish Production - Jan 1999

Thad Cochran National Warmwater Aquaculture Center

Dr. Verner G. HurtMAFES Director (1987-1996)

Visionary Leadership

Senator Thad Cochran

In 1994, Forest and Wildlife Research Center was authorized

Thompson Hall

MAFES has made significant investment

in biotechnology for over 20 years

Examples of successes from MAFES

Catfish vaccine development

An insect resistance gene isolated from corn

New methods to add genes to soybeans & add soy protein to yogurt

14 Patents, 5 Provisional, 17 Licenses, and 3 in

discussion

Keys to Early Successes

• Strategic Partnerships

• Visionary Leaders

• Stakeholder Input

• Dedicated Employees

Keys to Future Successes

• Leveraged Resources

• Balanced Portfolio

• Enhanced Partnerships

• Resource Accountability

• Development and Use of Technology

• Systems Research