By John Lovett
On the wind-swept plains of the eastern Arkansas Delta, bordering the hills of Crowley’s Ridge, sits an agricultural research station that has witnessed generations of Arkansas farming through periods of prosperity, hardship and transformation.
That history reached a milestone this year as the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station celebrated its 100th anniversary. It is one of the first three research stations commissioned by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, to foster innovation and adaptation to the evolving demands of growing food and fiber in the state's unique soil types and environments.
Humble beginnings
In 1926, researchers at the new experiment station worked from a brick residence and office, maintained mule teams and planted test plots in the Delta’s sandy loam cotton belt.
A century later, what began as the Cotton Branch Station has grown into a 655-acre research complex with more than 500 irrigated acres, advanced laboratories, modern harvesting equipment and research programs that influence agricultural production across Arkansas and beyond.
Source : uada.edu