[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 30, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S7965]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HIGHMORE RESEARCH STATION

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I rise today to express my warmest 
congratulations to the South Dakota State University Central Research 
Station in Highmore, SD.
  Today the experiment station is celebrating one hundred years of 
dedicated service to the agriculture industry in the Northern Plains. 
It is an outstanding example of the continued application of 
technological advancements by our farmers and ranchers in an ever-
changing competitive environment.
  The Highmore Research Farm, also known as the Central Crops and Soils 
Research Station, was the first research farm created in the north-
central United States. It was created in 1899 at the request of 
livestock producers who desired drought-resistant forage plants on the 
prairie. It was determined that a substation was to be established 
between the James and Missouri Rivers and a location was eventually 
secured near Highmore. Initially the work at the experiment station was 
centered around testing drought-resisting forage and devising ways and 
means for livestock producers to obtain winter forage as well. Later, 
crop production and rotation became an integral part of the research 
station.
  Affiliated with South Dakota State University in Brookings, this 
experiment station has been a leader in providing and conducting state-
of-the-art agriculture research. In Highmore and at the various other 
South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Stations across the state, 
researchers cover a variety of aspects of agriculture, ranging from 
crop to livestock production. Over 150 different projects demand the 
time and effort by these dedicated researchers at this time. Through 
sound science and a problem solving attitude these researchers expand 
the knowledge base for all of agriculture and those affected by it on a 
daily basis.
  In this critical time in production agriculture while depressed crop 
and livestock prices are driving agriculture producers from their 
operations, it is all the more essential that we encourage the research 
taking place at the experiment stations. As we enter a new millennium 
we must develop ways for producers to afford and adapt to the 
technological advancements that can make United States agriculture more 
competitive. This is crucial in order for South Dakota to compete in 
the ever-changing global market.
  The research and knowledge gained from these experiment stations 
benefit not only agriculture producers, but also consumers living in 
rural towns and urban cities. Learning from the past and building 
towards the future is a daily mission at the Highmore Experiment 
Station. I applaud the efforts of each researcher and all of those who 
dedicated their time and effort to this farm in the last 100 years. I 
extend my best wishes to the Central Research Station in Highmore for 
another 100 years of successful research and service to South Dakota 
agriculture.

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