Histroy of the Aberdeen R&E Center
1911-2004

The opening of vast areas of new land in southern Idaho during the early years of the present century marked the beginning of a new agricultural era for the State. As man diverted water from the Snake River and its tributaries to desert land he created an entirely new type of farming. Questions asked by settlers on these new farms could not be answered from the fund of knowledge built up by the University of Idaho's Agricultural Experiment Station at Moscow, in existence since 1892. The establishment of branch stations, strategically located, to provide the special type of research needed for these newly developed farming areas was the next step in sound development.

In mid-May 1911, W.L.Carlyle, then Dean of the College of Agriculture of the University, and F.D. Farrell, Superintendent of the Farmers' Institutes held throughout southern Idaho to help farmers new to irrigated agriculture with their problems, toured the Upper Snake River Valley. They were looking for a site where the University could establish a branch agricultural experiment station to serve that part of the new irrigated empire. This new station would supplement the work of another newly established station--at Caldwell--serving the southwestern part of the state.

At that time the Aberdeen area was the scene of considerable reclamation progress. Nearing completion was the canal system of the Aberdeen Valley Land Development Company, the first privately financed reclamation project to be initiated in Idaho under the Carey Act. In addition, the desert area west of the reclamation project was being homesteaded by farmers who were interested in dry farming, if suitable crops could be found. Therefore, the area seemed ideal for the establishment of an experiment station where both irrigated and dry-farm crops and techniques could be studied.

During their visit at Aberdeen, Dean Carlyle and Mr. Farrell met with a delegation from the Aberdeen Commercial Club. They were taken on a tour to see the area's many points of agricultural interest. This meeting opened a series of negotiations which resulted in the signing of a agreement between the University of Idaho and the Aberdeen Commercial Club. The negotiations culminated in establishment of an experiment station at Aberdeen.

The Commercial Club obligated itself to raise the necessary sum of money and to make other improvements on the farm. The amount of money to be raised locally amounted to $4,500 and a lease had been arranged for a tract of land at the northeast corner of the Aberdeen townsite, then known as the "Heppner farm". The lease was signed for a 15 year period, leading to the establishment of the Aberdeen Branch Experiment Station in September 1911.

The original 80 acres was cut diagonally by the Oregon Short Line right-of-way, leaving approximately 15 acres of land to the west of the right-of-way and the balance of the farm to the east. This division was used to separate the Station into sections, one side for study of irrigated crops, the other for dry-farm crops.

From the start, the Aberdeen Branch Experiment Station was operated
jointly by the University of Idaho and the United States Department of Agriculture. However, management and ownership have passed increasingly to the University of Idaho. The first major step in this direction came in 1925 when the Regents of the University of Idaho purchased the land from the original land owners.

Crops in the first experiments, planted in 1912, included potatoes, spring wheat, oats, barley, corn, alfalfa, red clover, peas, vetch and flax. It is significant that experiments with potatoes were considered the most successful during that first year. Winter wheat and barley were first planted on the Station in the fall of 1912. Work with potatoes and the small grains has been continuous since the first plantings.