OLDEST - Agricultural Experimental Plot West of the Mississippi
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 38° 56.532 W 092° 19.310
15S E 558771 N 4310581
Historic Sanborn Field listed as a National Historic Landmark, located on the campus of the University of Missouri in Columbia.
Waymark Code: WM3MET
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 04/20/2008
Views: 15
Historic Sanborn Field
Established in 1888 as the Rotation Field by Dean J.W. Sanborn, Sanborn Field
was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 along with the Duley-Miller
Erosion Plots also located on this campus. Sanborn Field is among the
oldest continuous, long-term research plots in the world and is the oldest
experimental plot west of the Mississippi River. Long-term, continuous
research here has helped researchers discover how agriculture and environment
interact. In 1948 researchers at Sanborn Field isolated the fungus
Streptomyces aureofaciens, the source of aureomycin a first-generation
antibiotic. Other pioneering studies showed that manure is not a balanced,
complete source of nutrients and that the value of complete and balanced soil
management includes manure, ag lime, and commerical fertilizer to prevent soil
deterioration and maintain soil productivity. Long-term objectives of
Sanborn Field are rooted in the crop rotations and monocultures under continuous
management here for more than 100 years. Researchers continue to measure
soil and crop changes in these unique plots as they document crop response, soil
physical properties, and nutrient balance. Soil and plant samples taken
continuously at Sanborn Field aid the study of long-term environmental changes.
As a living demonstration of interactions in the soil-plant-environment
continuum, Sanborn Field serves as an on-campus laboratory for teaching. ~ text
of marker