Report on the Agricultural Experiment Stations, 1953 Page: 2
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2 REPORT ON EXPERIMENT STATIONS, 1953
the expanded needs of the population and a growing industrial
economy.
The scope of the State experiment station program is indicated in
table 4 showing the sources of funds for station research in 1953, a
program on which a total of nearly 62 million dollars representing
non-Federal funds, composed largely of State appropriations and
other funds of non-Federal origin, was expended.
The business of the research scientists at the State agricultural
experiment stations is to develop new facts and principles useful to
farmers. Great differences in climate, soils, and topography exist
among the States. Such differences present specific, localized problems.
The diversified interests of farmers, influenced by such factors
as location, available markets, and the individual farmer's ability to
produce efficiently, also require individualized research solution from
State to State.
One cannot separate pure or background research from that which
is termed applied or practical research. Applied research is dependent
upon background studies, the findings of which may be put to
practical use. Whether research is basic and fundamental or practical
and applied, the emphasis in agricultural experiment station research
is on the systematic, scientific study of problems facing the operating
farmer, and the practical solutions to these problems.
Agricultural Research and Livestock Production
Good eating in the United States calls for an adequate supply of
animal protein such as is supplied in meat, eggs, and milk. For this
reason livestock production has become one of the Nation's major
production enterprises. In 1952 the value of livestock products, including
poultry, amounted to 56 percent of the total cash income of the
American farmer.
Many specific lines of research have contributed to the extensive
expansion of livestock production. For example, the practice of
animal husbandry has been greatly advanced by biochemical researches.
Today every farmer knows that nutrition has a direct bearing
on animal health and production. At the turn of the century
experiment stations placed great emphasis on the improved feeding
of livestock as a means of obtaining greater profit in the production
of milk and meat. Leaders in this field took a prominent part in
bringing about passage of the Adams Act of 1906, under which Federal-grant
funds are made available to State experiment stations for
fundamental research.
One of the first experiments launched under this act was the famous
Wisconsin study of feeds and feeding as they affect the growth and
development of animals. Out of that initial experiment and numerous
similar ones at the Wisconsin and other experiment stations grew
the vast amount of knowledge used in today's science of animal nutrition.
In these experiments, scientists first employed small animals
with a short life cycle, such as rats and mice, to test principles that
could be applied equally or similarly to the slower-growing larger
animals of the farm. Later findings led to the discovery of vitamins
and to subsequent investigations of the protein fractions and other
factors that have much to do with animal growth and health. Many
of the discoveries subsequently found practical application in the
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United States. Office of Experiment Stations. Report on the Agricultural Experiment Stations, 1953, book, 1953; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5989/m1/4/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.