Northwest Experiment Station

In 1895, on land provided by James J. Hill, the Northwest Experiment Station was founded to maximize the agricultural potential of the Red River Valley. Through many changes in the business of farming, the experimental farm continued to provide data on the most effective and efficient crops, livestock, and farming methods in the fertile land around Crookston. The facility was renamed Northwest Research and Outreach Center in 1999.

Since its inception, the station has tested, researched, and provided valuable insight into the farming practices of the Red River Valley. The area’s potential was seen from the beginning, with former superintendent Conrad Selvig noting, “What a heritage. Do you know the potent powers of this soil and the wonders it can perform?”

Less than twenty years after the incorporation of Crookston, the plentiful agricultural opportunities in the Red River Valley were already known around the state. Even Great Northern Railway magnate James J. Hill saw that the Crookston area held promise for farmers, with the right amount of research and experimentation. In the late 1890s, Hill donated 476.61 acres of land two miles north of Crookston to the state, with the provision that it be used for agricultural research and education.

At that time, there was already a state experimental farm in St. Paul, run by W. S. Hays. Hays and the University of Minnesota Board of Regents were surveying land around the state to determine locations for sub-station farms. Having spent time in the Red River Valley while working in Fargo, Hays was also aware of the area’s potential and named Crookston as a possible site.

In 1895, two legislators—Senator Peter M. Ringdal and Representative M. E. Craig—introduced bills to establish the Northwest Experiment Station in Crookston. Their bills led to an appropriation of $15,000 for the establishment of Crookston’s experimental farm, including $10,000 for equipment and $5,000 for two years of operations. The city of Crookston and Polk County also chipped in funds to develop new roads at the new facility.

Torger A. Hoverstad was named superintendent of the station and joined Hays for the groundbreaking in August 1895. Hoverstad’s first few years on the station were difficult. The biggest barrier to developing a working farm was the extensive flooding. The area’s particularly flat land resulted in soggy fields with nowhere for the water to run. In 1903 and 1905, additional state appropriations were finally provided to improve drainage, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and United States Engineers worked on the project through 1908.

In those first years, Hoverstad focused on planting trees around the barren land and testing four-foot-by-four-foot plots of wheat. After the major drainage issues were addressed, everything from forestry, alfalfa, and sugar beet farming to clover, poultry, and dairy farming were tested on the grounds.

In Hoverstad’s ten years as superintendent, he saw both growth and failure. In many years, wheat crops struggled due to weeds. But clover and alfalfa took off and were quickly adapted to the land in the Red River Valley. With economic development in mind, Hoverstad saw a natural fit—dairy farmers could become buyers of the plentiful clover and alfalfa to feed their cows.

Education was a natural next step for the station. With the backing of Hill and Governor Samuel Rinnah Van Sant, the 1905 Minnesota legislature appropriated $15,000 to establish the Northwest School of Agriculture on the grounds of the experiment station. This school was rededicated as the University of Minnesota Technical Institute in 1966 and as the University of Minnesota–Crookston in 1988.

In 1999, the Northwest Experiment Station changed its name to the Northwest Research and Outreach Center. Over the years, the experiment station grew in size. In 2017, the farm’s land totaled more than 1,500 acres. Research on soil, fertilizer, livestock, and crops—including sunflowers, sugar beets, and edible beans—helped farmers increase their efficiency and develop many of northwest Minnesota’s successful industries.

Education and outreach were also part of the station’s mission. Farmers spent time on the grounds during annual visiting days, learning about the latest research to take back to their fields. These trainings later developed into the popular Red River Valley Winter Show, a large indoor showcase of the latest agricultural developments.