University of Minnesota. College of Agriculture

Agricultural education was provided for in the organization of the University by the Minnesota territorial legislature in 1851. When the first state legislature convened in 1858, one of the items approved during the inaugural session was an unfunded proposal to establish an “Agricultural Experiment Farm and Agricultural College” at Glencoe. After a decade of inaction at the Glencoe site, the proposed college became part of the overall plan for the University of Minnesota, which commenced enrolling students in 1867. In 1868, in conformity with the National Land Grant Act, the legislature officially transferred rights to the agricultural college to the University. The College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts was established in 1869: in 1871, the agricultural component was reorganized as an independent administrative unit and renamed the Department of Agriculture. The selection of the name was a conscious attempt to align the mission, work, and stature of the college with the United States Department of Agriculture.

From 1869 to 1881, the Department was largely underfunded and undersubscribed. With the arrival of Edward Porter as Professor of Theory and Practice of Agriculture in 1881, the agriculture program found its first effective director. Porter taught classes, oversaw the establishment of the first out-state agricultural experiment station, and negotiated the purchase of land for the St. Paul Experiment Station (also referred to as University Farm.) Experiment stations were the Department of Agriculture’s research laboratories, where the problems of farming practice could be studied and innovations tested. In addition to collegiate-level offerings, “short courses” for practicing farmers were established to implement research findings and recruit potential students. The foundation for home economics study was laid though short course instruction aimed at farm and non-farm women.

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