The Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station and Michigan State University Extension had more than $1 billion in economic impact last year. Here are some "wow" facts about MSU's history of excellence in agricultural research and Extension.
Significant funding cuts to the MAES and MSUE may end this century-old tradition of excellence in teaching, research and Extension about scientific agriculture, healthy living and community vitality.
- Michigan State University grew out of the Michigan Agricultural College. Founded in 1855, the MAC was the nation’s first agricultural college.
- Michigan State University constructed the first building used solely as an agricultural laboratory in the United States.
- Albert J. Cook, class of 1862, was a U.S. leader in the protecting of crops through the development of insecticides.
- In 1873, William J. Beal began planting a botanical garden with more than 5,000 planted species.
- Howard R. Smith, class of 1895, pioneered the program of bovine tuberculosis eradication in the United States.
- Botany professor William J. Beal is considered the “father” of hybrid corn, which doubled the yield of corn plantings.
- In 1890, Robert Kedzie imported sugar beets from Germany and distributed them to farmers, launching a new industry in Michigan.
- Stanley Johnston, class of 1920, developed the Redhaven peach, one of the most widely grown varieties in the world.
- G. Malcolm Trout, Michigan State University food and dairy scientist, is widely recognized for creating homogenized milk in the 1930’s.
- Michigan State University scientists developed the first practical once-over cucumber harvester. The harvester was commercially manufactured in 1963.
- Stanley Johnston introduced two new varieties of blueberries in 1967, enabling Michigan to become the nation’s No. 1 blueberry producer.
- In 1967, MSU scientists released the “Goldcot” apricot variety, the first apricot that could be successfully grown east of the Rockies.
- In 1979, Michigan State University researchers increased wheat yields by 50 percent by introducing two new white winter wheat varieties.
- MSU plant scientist Chris Somerville and several colleagues discovered how to produce plastics from plants.
- MSU horticulturalists were the first in the world to use radioactive isotopes to follow the absorption of nutrients by plants.
- Harold B. Tukey’s research produced dwarf root stocks so that apples could be harvested from the ground.
- MSU vegetable breeder Shigema Honma developed the self-wrapping cauliflower, which eliminated the need to tie leaves over the cauliflower head to prevent greening.
- A fruit and vegetable de-capping machine, designed by Michigan State University’s C. M. Hansen, automatically removes caps from strawberries.
- Michigan State University researcher Ray Nelson studied how to attack mint disease, helping the chewing gum industry to survive.
- Michigan State University scientists developed a milking sensor which automatically disconnects when the flow of milk from a cow has stopped.
- Pre-packaging of vegetables in plastic was initiated by Michigan State University scientist Robert L. Carolu.
- Michigan State University scientist Christoph Benning is exploring ways to increase the amount of plant oil that can be produced and extracted from the seeds and tissues of crops like rutabaga and canola plants, leading to a new breed of biofuel crops.