[Back to Formatted Version]

Crop Science Department Records, 1925-2013

Collection Overview

Title: Crop Science Department Records, 1925-2013

Predominant Dates: 1958-2000

ID: RG 095

Primary Creator: Oregon State University. Department of Crop and Soil Science

Extent: 52.73 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Crop Science Department Records consist of reports, an inventory log, legal documents relating to lawsuits filed against the Oregon Foundation Seed Program, newsletters, sound recordings, videotapes, photographic slides and correspondence.

Scope and Content Notes

Accession 1996:045 includes two crop science reports: "Trends in Oregon Seed Production Acreage" (1975) and "Registration of Forage Varieties Published in 'Crop Science,' 1970-1985" (1985).

Accession 2001:079 includes the report: "A Register of the Agricultural Leaders and Scientists from Around the World Who Have Studied in Oregon Since 1951." This report, first printed in 1960, contains revised and updated lists added to the register in 1964. The register was published by the Oregon State College School of Agriculture and the Oregon Federal Cooperative Extension Service.

Accession 2002:027 includes article reprints, brochures, conference proceedings, correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, publications, reports, and research data. These records primarily pertain to weed control and pesticide research and cover topics such as the testing, marketing, and regulation of pesticides. In addition to records generated by the department, this accession includes material collected by faculty from chemical companies and state agencies. There are also reports relating to soil and water conservation districts among these records.

Accession 2002:042 includes photographic images taken by Farm Crop department staff of Farm Crops Club field trips in Oregon and Washington, various kinds of plowing machinery, and examples of wind and water erosion. Among the places featured in the field trip images are the towns of Moro, Hermiston, Walla Walla, Pendleton, Yakima, and Astoria. Of additional interest in the field trip photos are images of the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. It also includes an inventory log maintained by the Crop Science Department of photographic slides taken and collected by dept. staff. The entries are individually numbered and describe when and where the photographs were taken, the subject of the image, and occasionally who took the photograph. The entries describe the slides as dating from 1938 to 1963 and primarily depicting experimental farm plots in Oregon and other states. No actual slides accompanied this inventory and their location is unknown at this time.

Accession 2002:074 includes index cards with biographical information on Crop and Soil Science Department faculty that were filled out by the faculty themselves during the 1970s. The information contained on the cards includes date and place of birth, names of spouse and children, citizenship, membership in professional organizations, career history, published research, and conferences attended.

Accession 2003:041 includes correspondence and legal documents generated and collected by the Crop Science Department relating to lawsuits filed against the Oregon Foundation Seed Program (FSP) by the Washington State Crop Improvement Association (WSCIA). The basis of these suits were over strains of seed wheat (McDermid variety) sold by WSCIA that were in turn supplied by FSP and were found to be defective by farmers in Washington.

The Foundation Seed Program at OSU stored and distributed to farmers various strains of seed stocks developed in Oregon and other states. Budgetary considerations led to the demise of FSP in 1999. Afterward, the Director of Seed Services at OSU administered some of the functions previously handled by the FSP.

Accession 2004:090 includes records generated by the Crop and Soil Science department documenting a variety of administrative matters such as the accreditation of the department, building and greenhouse maintenance, instruction, scholarships/fellowships, involvement of faculty members in statewide and regional crop industry associations, research projects, seed certification, and the interaction between the department and other OSU units such as the Extension Service and the College of Agricultural Sciences. Records relating to the establishment of the George R. Hyslop Agricultural Research Memorial can also be found in this accession. Among the materials included in this transfer are annual reports, correspondence, financial statements, grant proposals, meeting minutes, photographs, publications, and studies.

Accession 2005:085 includes materials generated and collected by Agronomy Professor Floyd E. Bolton and includes article reprints, conference papers, correspondence, informational materials, newspaper clippings, project proposals, reports, and student papers. Primarily documenting Bolton's involvement in the study and review of wheat production in North Africa and the Middle East, the items in this transfer include material from workshops organized by Bolton in Turkey and Lebanon regarding wheat cultivation in dry climates. Correspondence and progress reports pertaining to research projects with the Oregon Wheat Commission are also included among these records. It also consists of reports collected by the Crop and Soil Science Department that document research in cereals, weed control, irrigation, and other topics relating to crop development and protection. Primarily made up of annual or biennial reports generated by OSU Agricultural Experiment Station branches, this transfer also includes studies generated by the OSU Extension Service and the Crop and Soil Science Department.

Accession 2006:001 includes copies of the newsletters "Crop and Soil News/Notes" and "Crop and Soil News and Views." They were generated by the OSU Extension Service and the Crop and Soil Science Department, respectively.

Accession 2006:092 includes correspondence, DVDS, handbooks, meeting minutes, newsletters, reports, sound recordings, and videotapes. In addition to records from the Agricultural Curriculum Committee, this transfer is made up of materials pertaining to degree options for seed technology and landscape management programs, remodel of Withycombe Hall, a department retreat, and the honorary societies of Gamma Sigma Delta and Sigma Xi. A punch-card instructional tool for grass identification was also found among these items. The handbooks are department manuals for use of a teletype computer. The DVD and videotape recordings (9 and 17 respectively) contain lectures from seminar classes "Sustainable Agriculture - CSS 199" and "Issues in Sustainable Agriculture: Pests and Pesticides - CSS 499." Also documented on some of the videotapes and the sound recordings (5 cassettes) are proceedings from Warren Kronstad Symposiums.

Accession 2007:001 includes materials relating to a conference organized by the Crop and Soil Science Department celebrating a century of crop, soil, and animal sciences instruction at OSU. In addition to handouts, historical essays, a slideshow script, and commemorative stickers, there are five DVDs documenting the keynote presentation and various presentations at the conference. Also included in this transfer are 2007 issues of the newsletters "Crop and Soil News/Notes" and "Crop and Soil News and Views." They were generated by the OSU Extension Service and the Crop and Soil Science Department, respectively.

Accession 2007:061 includes sound recordings (26 cassette tapes in all) documenting the Agronomic Crop Science course "Climate and Environment for Grass Seed Production" (ACS 211) and the published proceedings of the Annual National Wheat Industry Forum for three years. Program advisors and proceeding coordinators of the forum include OSU Crop and Soil Science Department faculty. This transfer also includes a final report on the U.S. AID/OSU Wheat Research and Production Project for Turkey.

Accession 2008:001 includes 2008 issues of the newsletters "Crop and Soil News/Notes" and "Crop and Soil News and Views." They were generated by the OSU Extension Service and the Crop and Soil Science Department, respectively.

Accession 2008:010 includes materials generated by the Crop and Soil Science Department and includes correspondence, publications, reports, slide presentation scripts, and a class reading packet for a course in the Principles of Cereal Crop Production (CSS 321). In addition to the merger of the Crop and Soil Science Departments into one, these records pertain to Meadowfoam research, the search for a department head, and the Warren Kronstad Honorary Symposium.

Accession 2009:001 includes 2009 editions of the two newsletters: "Crop and Soil News/Notes" and "Crop and Soil News and Views."

Accession 2010:001 includes the 2010 edition of the "Crop and Soil News and Views" newsletter.

Accession 2010:008 includes articles, conference papers, doctoral theses, Extension circulars, and reports collected by Crop and Soil Science professors Wheeler Calhoun and Gary Jolliff that document research on meadowfoam "Limnathes species." Primarily reflecting research outside of OSU, these reference materials also include findings published by Calhoun and Jolliff, who both worked on the New Crops Research Project 481 for the Crop and Soil Science Department.

Accession 2010:061 includes photographic slides documenting Oregon Foundation Potato Seed Program research projects at the Hyslop Field Research Lab and elsewhere. These images depict a variety of activities including: planting, weeding, harvest, in-vitro tuber production, and inspection.

Accession 2011:001 includes the Fall 2011 newsletter "Crop and Soil News and Views" and conference proceedings for the 94th annual meeting of the Potato Association of America (hosted by OSU in August 2010).

Accession 2012:003 includes records generated by the Pacific Northwest Wheat Quality Council and is made up of correspondence, meeting minutes, notes, and reports. Documentation from associated organizations, the Western Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors and the Western Coordinating Committee (WCC 81) are also represented among these materials.

Accession 2012:031 includes correspondence, annual summary reports, and directories generated by the Soil Science and Crop Science Departments. Primarily documenting the merger of the Crop and Soil Science Departments into a single department in 1990, the correspondence also details the appointment of Horace B. Cheney as the Head of the Soils Department and the annual newsletter for alumni of the Soils Science program. The annual summary reports and directories both list Soils Science faculty and staff members with the reports also citing research projects, articles published, scholarships awarded, and courses offered by the department.

Accession 2012:033 is made up of materials documenting research projects conducted by Crop and Soil Science Department faculty and includes correspondence, curriculum vitae, grant proposals, and research progress reports. Administered by the OSU Agricultural Experiment Station and the Extension Service, these files reflect research on a variety of topics such as varietal development, nitrogen cycling studies, biotechnology, soil properties, forage systems, gene mapping, and seed investigations. Also included as a part of this transfer are annual reports of OSU seed production research projects and photographic slides (67 in all) depicting a variety of unidentified student field trips.

Accession 2013:050 consists of materials generated and collected by the Crop and Soil Science Department that include correspondence, DVDs, a film reel, handbooks, mechanical drawings/plans, meeting minutes, notes, photographs, a plaque, reports, research data, and videotapes. In addition to documenting seed breeding research for alfalfa, fescue, and clover, these records also pertain to the centennial celebration of the Crop and Soil Science Department in 2007, accreditation reviews, course instruction, involvement with regional wheat industry organizations, and flax processing in the Willamette Valley. Numbering 295 images in total (157 prints, 104 negatives, and 34 slides), the photographs mostly depict research projects at Hyslop Farm and events at the centennial celebration.The slides are part of a presentation on conservation provisions of the Food Security Act of 1985. The moving image recordings on DVD (34), VHS videotape (23), and film (1 reel) document course lectures, speeches by Crop Science faculty Russ Karow and Norman Borlaug, Cereal Field Day events, flax processing, and an integrated crop management teleconference. Topics addressed in the course lectures include sustainable agriculture, genetically modified organisms, and bioproducts. The drawings and plans pertain to fiber flax processing equipment and the layout of a flax processing plant.

Accession 2014:009 is made up of materials generated by the Crop and Soil Science Department that include agreements, correspondence, course materials, flyers, grant proposals, meeting minutes, photographs, reports, and a VHS videotape. Among the subjects reflected in these records include: cereal variety testing research, seminars organized by the department, instruction, computer programs, Hyslop Field Research Lab, and the Oregon Cereal Crops Systems Initiative. About one-third of this transfer is made up of annual reports documenting the STEEP (Solutions To Environmental and Economic Problems) Program. These reports contain work plans and progress reports relating to cooperative erosion research projects throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Comprised of course reading packets, overhead transparencies, exam blanks, and "seed key" handouts with information on various crop and weed species, the course materials reflect the following classes: Cereal Crop Production (CSS 321) and Applied Principles of Crop Production (CSS 301-302). Numbering 113 images in total (53 prints and 60 slides), the photographs consist of a slide presentation on good grain management and images of various germinated seedlings demonstrating examples of normal and abnormal growth. The VHS videotape is labeled "OWC Review 85-850 Grain Grading."

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 296 photographs; 54 cubic foot boxes, 2 postcard boxes and 2 document boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation: Crop Science Department Records (RG 095), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information:

This collection is not fully processed and a complete finding aid is not available at this time.

We acknowledge that materials in SCARC collections and the language that describes them may be harmful. We are actively working to address our descriptive practices; for more information please see our SCARC Anti-Racist Actions Statement online.

SCARC describes the contents of its collections using the language and terminology of the collections themselves. Since culturally acceptable terminology shifts over time, some of the terms that appear in these materials are currently outdated or offensive.

Historically, "squaw" has been used as a misogynist and racist slur to disparage indigenous American women. Within this historic usage, it has been applied to place names, and scientific or colloquial names for plants. In this collection, the term "squaw" is used in the context of the Squaw Butte Experiment Station. This station is now known as the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center.

In order to provide historical context and to enable standardized searching and access across our collecctions, we have retained the use of this phrase in the collection description. We acknowledge the racism represented by this language and the harm it may cause our users. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitidues or behavior depicted therein. For more information on impacted collections, see the blog post.

[Date of Acknowledgement: December 2023]

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 14, 2014.

Creators

Oregon State University. Department of Crop and Soil Science
Jolliff, Gary D.
Yamhill County Extension Office

People, Places, and Topics

History of Science
Hops and Brewing
Natural Resources
Oregon State University. Department of Crop and Soil Science
University History


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.