Friday 20 July 2012

100 Years of Agriculture Research


The agriculture industry depends on research laboratories to advance farming technologies, and one lab in Mandan is has been helping for 100 years. Friends and Neighbors gathered at the Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan to celebrate a century of service.

"We`re tremendously excited to have a research location, to have been survived for 100 years and the different types of budget climates. To survive a lot of different technological changes over a century," said research leader Matt Senderson.

Over the years the lab has helped with technological improvements and changing farming practices.

"When you think about our laboratory was founded when the state was very very young. When farmers and ranchers where looking around for what types of things they could grow, or what would survive and what would not survive. Our lab really played a very important part in that very early on in the state`s founding," Sanderson.

The day started with several kids activities and USDA agency presentations. Each presentation focuses on a different part of agriculture. From soil health, to trees and even bugs.

"There`s always something that`s going to try to kill your tree. Some things we need to worry about more than others. There is no perfect tree. There is no pest free tree," said NDSU Extension Forestry Specialist Joe Zeleznik.

Another presentation called "A Bugs Life" talks about organisms that live in the soil and help with plant nutrition.

"What they do is they eat bacteria. And when they eat that bacteria, part of the bodies bacteria contains nitrogen. And so they`ll release some of that nitrogen, and them that nitrogen can go and feed other organisms or plants," said Research Soil Microbiologist Kris Nicholas.

After the presentations, producers took grazing and crop rotation tours.
Original article here

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