Historical Background 

The Hatch Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in March 1887, set up a national network of agricultural experiment stations with a mission to conduct research that would make America's farms more productive. Following suit, on Dec. 24, 1890, the Oklahoma Territory's legislature passed an act that established the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) College (later Oklahoma State University) and the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station in Stillwater. The "college farm" predated any classroom or administration facilities and was located on 200 acres. 

Successes and Innovations 

The Magruder Plots: 

J.C. Neal was the first experiment station director, and he hired A.C. Magruder as A&M's first teacher and researcher. Magruder began planting hundreds of varieties of fruit, nut and shade trees, and initiating varietal tests on oats, corn and spring wheat. In 1892, he established the now-famous Magruder Plots, the oldest continuous wheat plantings west of the Mississippi River. The plots were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Over the years, these plots have helped establish new and innovative soil fertilization techniques. One key finding has been the sustained wheat production of more than 16 bushels per acre, following more than 100 years without any fertilization. 

Significant advancements: 

• Five new wheat varieties were released by OSU in 2020, offering improved yield, disease resistance, grazing tolerance, insect resistance and improved end-use performance. Another variety was released in 2023 that offers increased yield and dual disease resistance. 

• OSU's Integrated Pest Management Program has significantly impacted the sorghum industry since 2014 by addressing key issues related to the sugarcane aphid, such as screening for effective insecticides and host plant resistance as well as developing economic thresholds and rapid scouting tools. Results have saved Oklahoma growers $6.2 to $14.4 million per year in lost grain yield. 

• Eight bermudagrass varieties developed at OSU have been used in 26 states, including more than 100 golf courses, 25 professional fields and 25 college/university stadiums. The turfgrass industry contributes more than $40 billion per year to the U.S. economy and more than $1 billion per year to the Oklahoma economy. 

• Technological innovations have included the creation of tools for measuring nitrogen and pathogens in crops; technology for increasing the shelf life of meat; the co-fermentation of biofuels; and the development of livestock management practices and digital databases to help improve various systems, such as water security management and plant pathogen diagnosis. 

NIFA-Funded Research   

A regenerative agriculture project at OSU monitored the quantity and quality of runoff water from fields where regenerative practices have been implemented. The project: 

• Assessed practices in continuous cotton production systems to achieve agricultural intensification, greater profitability and improved climate resiliency 
• Developed forage systems and presented demonstrations in producer and experimental station fields 

The research will support a soil stewardship education program and create a curriculum for regional 4-H Youth Development summer programs. 

Animal and food science researchers are: 

• Identifying specific microorganisms associated with resistance to necrotic enteritis in chickens. Certain breeds of chickens are naturally resistant to infections, while other genetically related breeds are more susceptible. OSU scientists are searching for the differences in the composition and function of the gut bacteria among different breeds of chickens when it comes to infection. The $300,000 NIFA-funded project is a collaborative project among Oklahoma State University, Iowa State University and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in East Lansing, Michigan. 
• Improving meat goat production practices by determining how different conditions in production influence the efficiency of production and profit. 
• Bettering cattle selection practices by comparing the immune responses of cattle selected for high growth versus moderate growth or high milk rate versus low milk rate in both spring and fall calving herds. 

OSU scientists in other areas: 

• Created a plant pathogen diagnostic system called the Diagnostic Assay Validation Network that will safeguard U.S. production systems, ensure safe and beneficial trade, food security and environmental protection.  
• Studied the interactions between plants and beneficial microorganisms to enhance the ability of grain crops to take in soil nutrients and fight a specific fungal disease. 
• Developed a new co-fermentation process for biofuels that significantly increases biofuel and chemical yields while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. 
• Identified multiple wheat genes that play important roles in discovering genetic components responsible for yield and disease resistance. This research is leading to wheat varieties with more advanced disease resistance and higher yield. 

Unique Agricultural Challenges   

Many challenges confronting livestock and food producers, such as sustainability, climate change and water quality/accessibility standards can only be addressed through multidisciplinary approaches. A sound environmental plan for a livestock operation will involve several different areas, including: 

• Animal science: nutritional/feeding programs that meet animals’ dietary needs without excess nutrient excretion into the environment 
• Veterinary medicine: animal health can impact efficiency of nutrient utilization 
• Biosystems and agricultural engineering: animal housing and manure collection systems can impact the volume and type of nutrients applied to land 
• Plant and soil sciences: crops, types of soil and cropping practices impact land application of manure 
• Agricultural economics: all practices associated with environmental management must allow the operation to remain economically sustainable 

Future Research 

OSU Agriculture hopes to see NIFA continue to fund creative and fundamental research that is relevant not only in our state but beyond our borders. NIFA is the major competitive-grant federal funding agency for our Land-grant scientists. The changing landscape of issues and needed scientific investment that leads to solutions for safe, abundant future food supply can only be achieved with NIFA’s involvement.