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College of Agriculture
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Western Triangle Ag Research Center
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About WTARC
Western Triangle Agricultural Research Center
About WTARC
The Western Triangle Research Center, one of seven Research Centers located throughout Montana, is located 10 miles north of Conrad, Montana in the vast agricultural production area known as Montana’s “Golden Triangle Area”. The western half of this area, the center’s main focus area, grows about 27% of the state’s cereal grain production. The site is located on Scobey clay loam, the most common and extensive agricultural soil type in Montana. In addition, off-station research is conducted in the seven counties of the area. The Western Triangle is one of the few areas of Montana where winter and spring wheat, durum, malt barley, cool season oilseed crops such as canola, and cool season pulse crops such as pea are all well adapted to the areas dryland and irrigated cropping systems.
Research programs include soil nutrient management, cultural practices such as no-till seeding methods for cereal grain, oilseed, and pulse crop production, and cooperative cereal breeding and wheat-stem sawfly management projects.
Information from the research is made available to farmers via popular press, bulletins, printed and website research reports, public seminars and field days.
The center is staffed with two faculty members, one research associate, and one technician.
Mission Statement
The Montana State University Agricultural Experiment Station’s mission as established in 1893 by the 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.” Thus, the Research Centers fulfill the agricultural research component of Montana State University’s federal Land Grant University mission of teaching, research and extension.
The mission of the Research Centers is to serve the specific needs of the clientele in local production areas and the broader needs of Montana agriculture in general through applied research directed to the problems and impacts of agricultural production.
New knowledge generated by Agricultural Research programs benefits Montana agriculture and the scientific community at local, state and national levels. This knowledge is disseminated to the agricultural industry in Montana through publications and teaching to improve the economic status and quality of life of its citizens. Research information also reaches the scientific community through publication in professional journals and presentations at professional meetings, thereby enhancing and promoting the individual professional development of faculty members. Faculty appointments are predominantly research-oriented, with limited opportunities for traditional academic teaching activities.
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