The Hettinger Research Extension Center, once known as the Hettinger Sub-Station, was established in 1909 by a gift of 160 acres of land by Adams County residents and the city of Hettinger. That same year, the North Dakota Legislature appropriated $10,000 to help establish the sub-station.
"One hundred years later, the Hettinger Research Extension Center will celebrate those events with a field tour and centennial celebration on July 7," says Christopher Schauer, center director. "In those 100 years, the Hettinger Research Extension Center has evolved into a much broader research Extension center than established in 1909, but with the same mission – providing timely and appropriate research evaluating agricultural opportunities for the residents of southwest North Dakota."
The field tours will begin at 3 p.m. with a specialty tour looking at the Conservation Reserve Program and how it relates to wildlife and the bottom line of local agriculture producers. Producers can participate in a small grains tour from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The tours will start at the old center office.
The centennial celebration kicks off at 5 p.m. with a historical tour of the facility. An open house at the center office is planned from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Participants can view specialty equipment and take a photo tour, and children can win NDSU prizes by taking part in a kids' straw search. A welcome and supper is planned from 6:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.
Other events include presentations about heritage resources, the history of the center, a present-day look at the center and the future of agriculture.
The first superintendent of the center was W.R. Lanxon. He was appointed to the position on June 1, 1910. The original work at the center involved converting native prairie to farmland for research purposes.
In 1912, one-tenth acre plots (133) were established for large-scale research trials. In 1913, 10 Guernsey cows, one registered Guernsey bull and a high-grade Jersey cow were purchased. Research expanded from 1909 through 1923 to include the evaluation of flax, prominent varieties of cereal, forage, potatoes and corn crops and resistance to rust in wheat.
In 1943, the Legislature appropriated $8,000 for the biennium to begin research in agronomy and sheep breeding. By 1944, 20 Columbia ewes were purchased for use in a broad-scale project on the improvement of sheep through selection and systems of breeding for conditions in North Dakota. An additional group of Rambouillet ewes was purchased later.
"These two ewe flocks were the foundation for the current sheep program at the Hettinger Research Extension Center," Schauer says.
Through the years, the center began cooperating with the Dickinson Research Extension Center. This led to the establishment of the Western Dakota Crops Day program. The program continues today as one of the largest university research programs of its type in the region.
"While the focus of livestock research conducted at the HREC remains sheep and lambs, the Hettinger Research Extension Center has greatly expanded its programs," Schauer says. "Research now focuses on ewe and lamb feeding and reproductive management; calf backgrounding; beef cow management; agronomic issues addressing fertilization, seed and pesticide applications; land transfer issues related to the Conservation Reserve Program; and research with the National Forest Service on the Grand River National Grasslands south of Hettinger."
During the summer months, graduate students and summer technicians collect data on grassland responses to sheep and cattle grazing, pheasant nesting success and lamb performance in the feedlot.
"Similar to the rest of the region and state, the only constant during the past 100 years has been change and challenges," Schauer says. "The change is driven by the livestock and crop producers of the region who have a desire to have a Research Extension Center of their own."
June 8, 2009