The roots of the Agricultural Economics Department at Montana State University reach back to the Farm Management program in 1913. Classes in the beginning stages were instructed by E. L Currier, whose main priority was teaching basic accounting principles to working farmers after these practices were found to be deficient. With the passage of the Purnell Act in 1925, the college was granted much needed funds to begin a curriculum focusing on the agricultural economics field. Director Linfield dismantled the Farm Management Department and put this new field under the wing of the Experiment Station. Although M. L. Wilson was named its first head, actual leadership came from former M. S. C. president James Hamilton while Wilson finished up his graduate work at the University of Wisconsin. Once Mr. Wilson took charge of the department in 1925, he was not an instructor but a researcher with the Experiment Station. His projects, along with E. A. Starch, deal with transforming dry farming and making agriculture more profitable. Their main focus dealt with the "Fairway Farms project". This farming revolution was based on the premise that through technological innovation and economic principles dry farming could be operated like a cooperative business. They also delved into mechanization, first through "Big Teams" where a large line of horses would pull large implements; then with the study of how motorized implements could increase output. When Wilson left the University to take a post within the Roosevelt administration, E. A. Starch took over as Head of the Department in 1933. While classes were offered in the field of Agricultural Economics from the Department's inception, it was not until the early 1930's that an undergraduate degree was offered in this field. In 1936, Dr. Roland Renne became head of the department, signaling a shift from a research based focus to educational based one. Along with the undergraduate degree, a Master's course was adopted in 1937. When Dr. Renne became President of the University in 1943, R. B. Tootell became the new acting head for three years. After the departure of Dr. Tootell, Robert Eckert returned from his graduate work at Ohio State University to lead the Agricultural Economics department through 1949.
From the guide to the Agricultural Economics Department Records, 1912-1949, (Montana State University-Bozeman Library, Merrill G Burlingame Special Collections)
