Department of Agronomy and Soils Records, 1940-1972

Back to Finding Aids
Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections Pullman, WA 99164-5610 USA (509) 335-6691 Inquiries

Archives 61
Department of Agronomy and Soils
Records, 1940-1973

The records of the Department of Agronomy and Soils were transferred to the University Archives, Washington State University in June 1976 and March 1979 (UA 78- 16) according to the approved records schedules. The records were processed by Michael Sampson from December 1980 to March 1981.

Number of Containers 10
Linear Feet Space: 9.5
Number of Items: 8,425

DEPARTMENT HISTORY

Agriculture has always been part of the college's curriculum; in the earliest days, all of its disciplines were taught in one department (the Department Of Agriculture). By 1918 these agricultural disciplines including farm crops, soils, etc., had expanded enough to warrant the formation of separate departments. The Department of Farm Crops and Soils were consolidated into a Department Of Agronomy in February 1928. This name was changed in November 1969 to Department of Agronomy and Soils. The present department offers a number of degrees, including B.S. in Agronomy, B.S. in Soils, M.S. in Agronomy, M.S. in Soils, and Doctor of Philosophy.

ARRANGEMENT AND DESCRIPTION

The records of the Department of Agronomy and Soils are arranged in three series: Subject File, 1940-1972; Tennessee Valley Authority Files, 1951-1972; and Correspondence Files, 1965-1971. Series one file contains records dating from 1940 through 1972, however, the bulk of the material deals with the period after 1963. This first series is arranged alphabetically by subject. The file consists of correspondence, memoranda, minutes and proceedings of professional meetings, reports, newsletters, student and faculty information and research information. Major headings in the subject file include such topics as: Agronomy & Men (publication of the Agronomy Club), Extension Administration, annual reports of county Extension Agents, Outlying Testing Program of the Washington experimental stations, Pacific Northwest Fertilizer Conference, Pacific Northwest Crop Improvement Association, Pacific Northwest Plant Food Association, teaching and course content in the department, Washington State Crop Improvement Association, USDA correspondence, and wheat research.

Series two, Tennessee Valley Authority files, date from 1951 to 1972 and consist of correspondence, financial statements, vouchers, and reports on program progress. Through an agreement with Washington State University, the TVA sold fertilizer to Washington state farmers. These records document this agreement, the shipment of the fertilizer, and the farmers who participated in the program. The file has been arranged chronologically to be consistent with its original order.

Series three, the correspondence file, contains items dating from 1965 to 1971; these records have been arranged chronologically by year and alphabetically within each year. The file consists of correspondence to and from various agencies, including county extension agents, professional organizations, private industry, governmental departments, and individuals.

Principal correspondents are: B. Rodney Bertramson (former department chairman and Director of Resident Instruction), Harry A. Cosgriffe, Irving Dow (Extension Specialist), James C. Engibous (chairman of the department), C.B. Harston, A.G. Law (professor Of Agronomy), L.L. Madsen (Dean, College of Agriculture), C. Dawson Moodie (professor of Agronomy), Kenneth Morrison (Extension Specialist), J.S. Robins (Director of Research, College of Agriculture), Leland Streit, and R.M. Turner.

SERIES LIST


                                                                        CONTAINERS
Series 1: Subjects, 1940-1972                                            1-7
Series 2: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1951-1972                          8
Series 3: Correspondence, 1965-1971                                      9-10

CONTAINER LIST

Box	Folder	Description	# of Items

Series 1: Subject File, 1940-1972

1	1	Affirmative Action Plan, 1972	1
	2-4	Agricultural Chemicals, 1969-1972	16
	5	Agricultural Commodity Commissions Meeting, 1966	7
	6	Agricultural Economics, 1970	4
	7	Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, 1969	2
	8-10	Agriculture, College of, 1965-1966, 1970	28
	11	Agronomy Advisory Board, 1957, 1961, 1963-1965	35
	12	Agronomy Base-Setting Meeting, 1972	1
	13-14	Agronomy Club, 1966-1967	13
	15-18	Agronomy & Men, 1965-1966, 1968-1970	101
	19	Alpha Zeta, 1965	1
	20	Alumni Rosters (and miscellaneous material), 1968-1970	14
	21	American Society of Agronomy, 1963	49
	22	American Society of Agronomy Correspondence, 1971-1972	6
	23	Assistantships and Fellowships (requests), 1963-1964	7
	24-25	Barley, 1964, 1968, 1972	7
	26	Blain, John--Ford Motor Farm Efficiency Award, 1966	10
	27	Bureau of Reclamation Meeting, 17 March 1965	32
	28-30	Careers in Agronomy, 1964-1966	65
	31	Castor Bean Production Potential, 1965	1
	32	Certified Seed Growers, 1963, 1964, 1969	3
	33	Columbia Plateau Conservation Council, 1965	46
	34	Columbia Plateau Resources Council, 1965	30
	35-36	Computing Center, 1969-1972	8
	37	Controlled Environment Facilities, 1966-1971	6
	38-41	County Agent's Letters, Re: Annual Reports, 1964-1967	154
	42-43	Course Outlines for Agronomy and soils, 1968-1970	37
	44-71	Crop Judging Team, 1940, 1951-1972	248
2	72-73	Dry Pea and Lentil commission, 1966, 1972	36
	74	Dryland Research Review conference, Feb. 15-16, 1966	14
	75-76	Dryland Research--Lind Experiment Station, 1965, 1967	21
	77	Educational Policies Committee, 1969	3
	78	Enrollment Statistics, 1970-1972	8
	79	Environmental Science, 1970-1971	7
	80	EROS, 1969	22
	81-87	Extension Administration, 1964-1970	188
	88	Extension--Agronomy Research Program, 1964	10
	89	Extension--50th Anniversary conference, 1964	5
	90	Extension--Agronomy Personnel Annual Reports, 1964	9
	91	Extension--Annual Reports for Specialists, 1964-1965	11
	92-96	Extension Correspondence 1964-1968	505
3	97-99	Extension Correspondence, 1969-1972	78
	100	Extension Director's Memos, 1965	5
	101-102	Extension Agronomists Meeting, 1964, 1966	23
	103	Extension--Meetings & Minutes, 1967-1972	45
	104-107	Extension--Annual Plans of Work	46
	108	Extension Publications, 1966-1967	22
	109	Extension Range Management Program, 1964	10
	110	Extension Research Report, 1971	1
	111	Extension Service Review, December 4-8, 1972	14
	112-113	Extension Training Sessions, 1964-1966	19
	114	Fertilizer--Aqua Humus, 1963	43
	115-117	Fertilizer Conference, Pacific Northwest Regional, 1964-66	163
	118	Fertilizer Conference (1966), Rough Drafts of the Papers	30
	119	Fertilizer Conference Proceedings, 1968-1970	4
	120	Fertilizer and Herbicides Needs--Agronomy Farm, 1964-1965	21
	121	Fertilizer Institute, 1971	3
	122-123	Fertilizer--Various Angles, 1964-1965	11
	124-131	Field Day, 1964-1970	211
4	132	Field Day, Spillman Farm, 1971	48
	133	Field Days, 1971	5
	134-136	Forage Testing, 1963, 1964, 1966	6
	137-140	Foreign Correspondence and Visitors, 1962-1969	76
	141	Forest & Tree Fertilization, 1965-1969	9
	142-143	Genetics Program, 1970, 1972	13
	144	Goodyear SCS Awards, 1964-1965	16
	145	Grass Seed Production Meeting (Pendleton), 1971	7
	146	Greenbug Threat to Wheat, 1971	1
	147	Herbicide Damage Research, 1962-1963, 1968	10
	148-150	Honors Program, 1964-1972	14
	151	International Executive Services, 1968	1
	152	International Programs, 1968, 1970	3
	153	Iowa State University Agricultural Travel Course, 1965	34
	154-156	Irrigation Experiment Station (Prosser), 1964- 1966, 1968	14
	157-159	Jobs Available, 1966 1968 1969	8
	160-162	Job Placement, 1964, 1969, 1971	17
	163	Job Statistics an Graduates, 1972	1
	164-167	Junior Community College, 1968-1971	60
	168	Lewis County Grassland Council, 1964	16
	169-170	Library, 1970-1972	10
	171	Lime Conference--November 16-17, 1965	21
	172	Maquire Replacement for WSU Seed Laboratory, 1966	9
	173-175	Manuscript Reviews from other Departments, 1967, 1971, 1972	24
	176	Marketing Clinic: proposal and committee meetings, 1966	33
	177-178	Meetings and Conferences, 1971-1972	10
	179	National Wheat Institute, 1970	8
	180	News Bureau, 1972	3
	181-182	Northwestern Washington Research & Extension Unit, 1965, 1968	2
	183	Open House--College Of Agriculture, 1966-1969	16
	184	Osterli, Victor--Columbia Plateau Resources Council, 1966	29
	185-188	Outlying Testing--Central Washington, 1963-1965, 1967	48
	189-191	Outlying Testing--NoWestern Washington, 1965-1967	51
	192	Outlying Testing--Prosser, 1969	5
	193	Outlying Testing--Tree Fruit Research, 1969	1
	194	Outlying Testing--Washington State, 1968	4
	195-197	Outlying Testing--Western Washington, 1964, 1965, 1967	23
	198-202	Pacific Northwest Crop Improvement Association, 1964-1966	69
5	203-208	Pacific Northwest Crop improvement Association, 1967-1972	39
	209-214	Pacific Northwest Plant Food Association, 1964-1969	43
	215-220	Pakistan, 1964-1969	45
	221	Patent Committee, 1972	3
	222	Pesticides, 1968-1972	30
	223	Plant Pathology, Department, of, 1972	3
	224	Potash Institute, 1971	4
	225	Potato Commission, 1972	1
	226	Projects in Agronomy & Soils--current status, 1970	2
	227	Prospective Graduate Students, 1972	3
	228	Prospective Undergraduate Students, 1971	2
	229	Publications, 1965	5
	230	Publication Plans of the Agronomy 4 Soils Faculty, 1966	31
	231	Recreation (Academic Preparation), 1968	1
	231	Recreation (Academic Preparation). 1968	1
	232	Resident Instructional Staff, 1970	9
	233	Rockefeller Foundation Fellowships, 1969-1971	30
	234	Safety, 1969	9
	235-236	Scholarships, 1964-1965, 1972-1973	51
	237	Science Development Proposal, 1965	3
	238	Search for Director Committee, 1972-1973	15
	239	Seed House, 1972	3
	240	Seed Lab (Seed Prices), 1972	3
	241	Seed School, Idaho-Washington, 1966	14
	242-247	Short Courses, 1964-1969	87
	248	Space, 1960-1965	55
	249	Soil Chemistry Notes--correspondence, 1957-1967	31
	250	Soil Conservation Service--SCD's (Newsletters), 1964-1965	23
	251	Soil Conservation Society of America, 1963-1971	15
	252	Soil Conservation Society of America--inland Empire, 1964-70	29
	253-254	Soil Fertility Workers Conference--Central Washington, 1964-65	30
	255	Soil Fertility Workers Conference- -Western Washington, 1964-64	10
6	256-263	Soil Improvement Committee, 1964-1967	217
	264	Soils Research Program, 1968	21
	265	Soils Seminar, University of Idaho & WSU, 1963-64	12
	266-268	Soil Science Society of America, 1965, 1968, 1969	9
	269	Soil Survey--Seattle Conference, 1964	33
	270-274	Staff Memoranda, 1965-1972	120
	275-277	Stastics--Washington State Crop Reports, 1965-1969	45
	278-279	Student Evaluations, 1967, 1969-1970	9
	280	Study Council, President's, 1968-1969	15
	281-282	Sulphur Institute, 1971, 1972	17
	283	Symposia--Mutations, Barley, International Wheat Conference, 1969	41
	283-292	Teaching, 1957-1959, 1968-1972	113
	293	Training Sessions (Calendar), 1964	3
	294-295	Tree Fruit Council, 1969-1971	10
	296	Tree Fruit Research Center (Wenatchee), 1968	2
	297	Turf, 1965-1971	26
	298	Turf Association (Northwest Turfgrass Association), 1964-1972	14
	299-300	Turf--Goss (Western Washington Research and Extension Center), 1960-1966, 1972	38
	301	Turfgrass Research--Puyallup Extension Station, 1972	10
	302-304	USDA Correspondence, 1965-1972	65
	305	Varieties, Release of New, 1966	2
7	306	Visitation--Dr. Hagsand (Sweden), 1965	6
	307-309	Visitations--VIP, 1968-1970	23
	310-311	Visitors, 1971-1972	25
	312	Washington Association Of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, 1965	16
	313-314	Washington Association of Wheat Growers, 1964-1971	36
	315	Washington Mint Growers Association, 1970	2
	316-322	Washington State Crop Improvement Association, 1965-1972	103
	323-325	Washington State Soil Improvement committee, 1967-69	54
	326	Washington Wheat Commission, 1972	2
	327	Water Holding Capacity of Irrigated Soils in the Columbia Basin--project proposals and other correspondence, 1963-65	42
	328-329	Water Research Center, 1971-1972	24
	330	Weeds, 1965	6
	331	Western Farmers Association, 1964-1965	2
	332-336	Western Society of Crop Science, 1965-1971	87
	337-338	Western Society of Soil Science, 1968, 1971	14
	339-340	Western Washington Research and Extension Unit, Puyallup, 1965, 1968	3
	341	Western Wheat Improvement Committee, 1971	2
	342	Wheat Congress, 1965	15
	343	Wheat Council (WSU), 1971	13
	344	Wheat--Miscellaneous, 1965	11
	345	Wheat Plotland Exemptions (WSU experimental plots), 1964-65	13
	346	Wheat Quality, 1964-1965	23
	347	Wheat Research Workers (Tri-State) Meeting, 1965	21
	348	Wheat Variety Commercial Milling Tests, 1965	26

Series 2: Tennessee Valley Authority Files, 1951-1972

8	349	WSU Contract, 1951	17
	350-351	Tests, Sales and Research Programs, 1953-1955	60
	352	Correspondence, July 1-December 1955	47
	353	Finances, 1955-1956	10
	354-355	Correspondence, 1956	191
	356	Finances, 1956-1957	37
	357-358	Correspondence, 1957	167
	359	l-b-2 Programs, 1957-1958	8
	360-361	Correspondence, 1958	149
	362	Vouchers, 1958	48
	363	Finances, 1958-1959	40
	364-365	Correspondence, 1959	127
	366	Finances, 1959-1960	33
	367	Annual Report, 1959-1960	1
	368	Morrison's TVA File (fertilizer pamphlet, requisition form), 1960	7
	369-370	Correspondence, 1960	104
	371	Cooperators (back to 1945) Report, 1961	20
	372-373	Correspondence, 1961	92
	374	Correspondence, January-June, 1962	52
		Washington Counties:
	375-377	Cowlitz, 1956-1959	30
	378-382	Grays Harbor, n.d., 1959	17
	383	King, 1959	6
	384	Kitsap, 1961	4
	385	Lewis, 1959	15
	386-393	Pacific, 1958-1961	60
	394-397	Skagit, n.d., 1958-1959	15
	398-400	Snohomish, 1959	22
	401-402	Thurston, 1959-1961	10
	403	Wahkiakum, 1959	6
	404	Test Demonstration, 1968-1971	14
	405	Correspondence, 1972	6

Series 3: Correspondence Files, 1965-1971

		1965:
9	406-408	A-B	45
	409	Buchanan, M.T.	14
	410-413	C-F	30
	414	Fischer, G.W. (Dean, College of Agriculture)	10
	415	French, C.C. (president)	3
	416-420	G-L	55
	421	Ma-Mb	19
	422	Madsen, L.L. (Dean, College of Agriculture)	12
	423-424	Mc-Mz	21
	425-428	N-R	42
	429	Rasmussen, L.W.	4
	430-435	S-Z	60
		1966:
	436-437	A-B	39
	438	Buchannan, M.T.	13
	439-442	C-F	32
	443	Fischer, G.W.	4
	444	French, C.C.	2
	445-451	G-M	142
	452	Madsen, L.L.	20
	453-462	Mc-Z	120
		1967:
	463-464	A-B	42
	465	Buchanan, M.T.	13
	466-469	C-F	47
	470	Fischer, G.W.	4
	471-477	G-M	112
	478	Madsen, L.L. (Dean, College of Agriculture)	20
	479-483	Mc-R	42
	484	Robins, J.S. (Director of Research, College of Agriculture)	17
	485	S	35
	486	Singleton, H.P.	1
	487-490	T-Z	32
		1968:
10	491-499	A-J	51
	500-506	K-Z	59
		1969:
	507	A-N	28
	508	O-Z	31
		1970:
	509	A-N	66
	510	Robins, J.S.	13
	511	O-Z	61
		1971:
	512	A-L	48
	513	M-Z	39