|
|
|
A
Land-Grant Institution
The
university's Division of Agriculture, Forestry, and Veterinary
Medicine exists because of the state and the nation's commitment
to making America's food and fiber system the most effective
one in the world. That commitment dates to the mid-19th
century and is as up-to-date as the space age. As a matter
of fact, agriculture forms the indispensable base on which
all our modern technological and economic advances rest.
The nation's more successful farmers have always been those that sought the
most reliable information about agricultural practices. Among their ranks are
founding fathers George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. These gentlemen farmers
maintained detailed production records and networks of contacts for information
exchange.
As the United States developed, influential men like Washington and Jefferson
expressed greater interest in a more scientific approach to agriculture. At
the same time, interest in the general welfare of the common people increased.
The federal government responded with a series of actions beginning with the
establishing of the United States Department of Agriculture as a Presidential
cabinet-level department in 1862.
Broader training and deeper scholarship in production and marketing of agricultural
products was needed to enhance the nation's major industry. This need fueled
one of the nation's greatest contributions to modern education--the agricultural
and mechanical college. This approach to education combined the scholarly with
the practical with the avowed purpose of improving opportunity for the masses.
The Morrill
Act of 1862 established
these colleges nationwide. Called the land-grant system, this class of colleges
was originally endowed by grants of public lands in the developing western
United States. Mississippi joined the movement with the first assignment of
land-grant funding to Alcorn University and the University of Mississippi in
1871. The State A&M College near Starkville was established as Mississippi's
land-grant institution in 1878.
In 1887, the Hatch
Act established
the agricultural experiment station system, modeled on European stations, but
with a distinctly American interest in applied research. The Mississippi legislature
responded with its experiment
station act in
1888. Although the federal act bears the name of Missouri's William Henry Hatch,
significant credit must be given to our state's Senator James Z. George. He
introduced the first experiment station bill in 1885 only to see it stall in
the House of Representatives.
The Second
Morrill Act,
passed in 1890 after 18 years of debate, provided for direct annual appropriations
to each state to support its land-grant college.
The existence of land-grant colleges and experiment stations resulted in a
growing logjam of knowledge that needed to be made available to the farmer
and farm family in the field. A variety of activities including farmers institutes,
agricultural societies, and corn and tomato clubs were tried to meet these
needs. In response, the Smith-Lever
Act of 1914
established cooperative extension work.Mississippi's legislature had earlier
responded with funding for demonstration work by county departments of agriculture
in 1908. In 1916, the state legislature assigned responsibility for extension
work to A&M
College.
A separate School of Forest Resources was established in 1954.
In 1961, a separate vice presidency was established for the division.
The national experiment station agenda was further enhanced in 1962 with passage
of the McIntire-Stennis
Forestry Act.
With 17 million acres of commercial forests, Mississippi has a significant
stake in forestry research and development.
The state legislature further recognized the crucial nature of forestry resources
with the establishment of the Forest
Products Utilization Laboratory in
1964. The act was "specifically designed to establish a program for the discovery
and dissemination of knowledge concerning forest products and the uses thereof."
Three decades later, the state legislature determined that line-item budgetary
status for the state's forestry, forest products, and wildlife and fisheries
research programs should be consolidated in a single unit, the Forest
and Wildlife Research Center.
In 1974, the legislature, recognizing the public benefit of animal health services,
directed the Board of Trustees of the State Institutions of Higher Learning
to establish a College
of Veterinary Medicine at
State. Veterinary practice and research are keys to the success of the food
and fiber system in dealing with an animal industry that exceeds one billion
dollars in value. And, the public health benefits from rapid and accurate diagnosis
of animal diseases transmissible to humans. |
