Historic Sanborn Field

Historic Sanborn Field. . Established in 1888 as the Rotation Field by Dean J.W. Sanborn. Sanborn Field was designated a National Landmark in 1965 along with Duley-Miller Erosion Plots, also located on this campus. Sanborn Field is the third-oldest continuous long-term research site in the world and has helped researchers discover how agriculture and the environment interact. In 1945, researchers took soil samples from Sanborn Field where the bacterium streptomyces aureofaciens, the source of aureomycin, a first generation antibiotic, was isolated. Other pioneering studies showed that manure is not a balanced, complete source of nutrients and that the value of complete and balanced soil management includes manure, ag lime, and commercial fertilizer to prevent soil deterioration and maintain soil productivity. Sanborn Field has become known as the "grandfather" of soil health, the interaction of soil physical, soil chemical, and soil biological indicators, which when balanced, can optimize soil, crop, and environmental properties. Long-term objectives of Sanborn Field are rooted in the crop rotations and monocultures under continuous management since its establishment. Soil and plant samples taken continuously at Sanborn Field aid the study of long-term environmental and crop nutritional changes. As a living demonstration of interactions in the soil-plant-environment continuum, Sanborn Field serves as an on-campus laboratory for teaching.