AMES, Iowa – As the oldest of 14 off-campus research farms managed by Iowa State University (ISU), the Northern Research and Demonstration Farm marked its 95th anniversary this year, recently holding an open house to also celebrate its new multi-use building, according to officials.

Located in Kanawha, Iowa, the farm was created in March 1930 to help meet the agricultural and informational needs of the neighboring community in the face of the Great Depression. It has focused on research, teaching and extension opportunities for livestock and cropping farms since 1930.

“The 95th anniversary of the research farm is poignant in that ISU, farmers and the industry have been investigating ways to produce crops in Iowa better for almost 100 years,” Alison Robertson, ISU professor of plant pathology, told Farm World.

Officials said the Kanawha Chamber of Commerce and 400 local residents raised the funds to purchase 85 acres of land, and with the assistance of the now-named North Central Iowa Research Association, leased it to ISU in 1931. Land has gradually been added to the farm, which now totals 173 acres of cropland and research plots.

Originally, the farm’s research included several crops, including sugar beets, officials added. Now, this property has expanded to include some of the longest-running experiments on soil fertility and crop response to micronutrients, continuously running since the 1960s and 1980s, respectively.

In addition to its 95th anniversary, the farm is celebrating the completion of a new building, which features a lobby and welcome area, offices for farm staff, a small meeting room, a large multi-use area, and a kitchenette. It will be used to host events such as Planter University, the North Central Iowa Research Association’s annual meetings, and extension gatherings.

Kendall Lamkey, associate dean for facilities and operations at ISU’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, said the flex space is heated and air-conditioned, and has already proved valuable to the town of Kanawha – a local high school senior recently held his graduation party in the space.

“To me, that’s one of the most important things that the farm does – being so integrated into the town,” he said. “This farm is a little unique, I think, because it’s the oldest. It’s also just outside the city of Kanawha, so it’s almost part of the town.”

On Sept. 29, 1932, the Northern Research and Demonstration Farm hosted its first field day – what would become a tradition to share research findings and offer farmers a chance to ask questions, officials said.

Greg Guenther, North Central Iowa Research Association president, said the partnership between the association and ISU is a model used for other Iowa State Research and Demonstration Farms across the state, and by other university research farm relationships across the globe.

He said the farm continually hosts demonstrations, showing new technologies and techniques, and interacting with local farmers and community members: “A lot of times, the ‘demonstration’ part of the farm’s name gets left off. I like to emphasize the demonstration part because that’s how the information we discover gets back out to the people.”

Lamkey said ISU is fortunate to have access to such a wide variety of research facilities, adding that researchers can find a soil type that works with their project, and work with extension specialists to distribute their findings directly to the people it affects through field days.

Robertson said, “I first started research there in 2010. I have done disease management trials – predominantly fungicides on corn – identifying the most effective products and timing of application for disease control.

“The Northern Research and Demonstration Farm enables me to evaluate disease management practices for yield protection of corn and soybean in an on-farm setting under real-world conditions that I can share with Iowa producers to improve their production,” she added.