> College of Agriculture > Department of Research Centers

Southern Agricultural Research Center
Huntley, Montana

"Serving the Land Grant Mission in South Central Montana"

The Southern Agricultural Research Center (SARC) near Huntley, Montana, is one of seven facilities that make up the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station Research Center System. The mission of the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station, as defined by state statute, is "to conduct and promote studies, scientific investigations and experiments relating to agriculture, natural resources and rural life and to diffuse information thereby acquired among the people of Montana". The Montana Agricultural Experiment Station fulfills this mission as the agricultural research component of Montana State University-Bozeman's Federal Land Grant mission of teaching, research and extension. SARC conducts agronomic research and education programs for agriculture in the dryland and irrigated areas located in nine counties of south central Montana as part of the MAES mission.

The Southern Agricultural Research Center is a 462 acre facility located in the heart of the Huntley-Worden Irrigation Project, which resides along the Yellowstone River approximately 20 miles east of Billings, Montana. Created as a demonstration farm by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1907, the farm evolved into a USDA Bureau of Plant Industries Field Station cooperating with Montana State College and the MAES in 1910. Ownership of the station was formally transferred from the USDA Agricultural Research Service to the State of Montana by a Congressional Patent in 1953. Formal USDA-ARS involvement with SARC ended in 1963. Closed to meet budgetary constraints in 1995, SARC was reopened by the MAES and Montana State University on a limited basis in February, 1998. The Center is currently staffed by two research faculty, one extension faculty, three professional-level support staff, a farm foreman and a part-time administrative assistant. The Center is served by a 24 member advisory committee made up of farmers, agricultural industry representatives and extension agents representing the nine surrounding counties.

This region of the state possesses diverse agriculture. Major crops include winter and spring wheat, malt and feed barley, oat, sugar beets, silage and field corn, dry beans and alfalfa. Sprinkler irrigation occurs in the region, but gravity-fed flood irrigation districts predominate in the river valleys where higher value crops are grown. Small grains, primarily winter wheat, are mostly produced in crop-fallow rotations in dryland areas that receive 15 inches or less of annual precipitation. About 1.1 million acres of cropland are harvested annually in this region of the state, grossing over $140 million in cash receipts (Montana Agricultural Statistics, 1998). Substantial hay and pasture acreage also exists in this region of Montana, contributing to a livestock industry that produces another $250 million in annual revenue. In 1997, the combined revenue from crop and livestock in these counties totaled $392 million, representing about 20% of Montana's total agricultural production. Small increases in revenue (1/2 to 2 percent) associated with the adoption of new cultivars or improved cropping practices can easily contribute millions of dollars in total revenue to the region’s agricultural and business communities.

Site developed by Ken Kephart, Department of Research Centers. Revised October 3, 2005.