The College of Agriculture and Mechanics, now known as the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), was founded in 1870. In 1888, the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) was created within the college to develop the agricultural sciences by practical research. Between 1901 and 1919, AES research led to the addition of departments in dairy farming, stockbreeding, soils, rural life, agricultural engineering, field crops, plant science, and farm management. The growth of the AES was encouraged in the 1930s by cooperation between Missouri’s Department of Agriculture, the USDA, and the College of Agriculture.
Early in its history, the AES did important work with other experiment stations on Texas fever and hog cholera. The vaccines created had a great impact on the survival rate of livestock in the Midwest. In addition to animals, the AES has always studied the soil and crop sciences. Soil erosion has also been a main area of study, especially during the 1940s. Since that time, the AES has become a statewide network of farms, centers and forests where research is done in agriculture, forestry, animal science and natural resources.
The materials in this collection are special reports, research bulletins, circulars, and other bulletins published by the Agricultural Experiment Station from 1888 to 2005. The subjects covered range from agricultural education, legislation, agribusiness, and farm management to livestock, insects, soil research, crops, and orchards.
CAUTION: Recommendations in these publications may be obsolete and even in violation of present laws regulating the use of pesticides. They are included here as a matter of historical interest.
Special report
Columbia, Mo. : The Station, 1961-1968
no online access
Missouri Station, Entomological Laboratory, Greenhouses and Hotbeds, 1900
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
