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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
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
In 1974Legislature created College of Veterinary Medicine
MAFES established a service unit named MAFES Remote Sensing Center
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
