Parish Highlights of the North Central Region

The establishment of the Hill Farm was authorized by Act No. 127 of the 1946 Louisiana Legislature, and it was designated the North Louisiana Hill Farm Experiment Station. However, the original purchase of land was not made until August of 1947 when 983 acres were acquired. The land area expanded several times in the early years. In 1948, the Claiborne Parish Police Jury donated 140 acres. Additional land purchases, made in the mid 1950s (119 acres), the late 1960s (91 acres), and the early 1970s (155 acres), brought the station to its present total of 1488 acres.  A group of pictures and documents related to the history of the Hill Farm can be found by clicking on history.

According to the 1946 legislative act, the Hill Farm was established "for the purpose of conducting experiments to determine and develop the most economically suitable agricultural, livestock, and tree crop practices for the North Louisiana Hill Farm Section".

Initial research was undertaken on row crops (chiefly cotton and corn), horticultural crops, forestry, dairy, and poultry. There was also a mobile soil testing laboratory. As the agriculture of the area changed, so did the research programs of the station. Row crop farming essentially disappeared with considerable conversion of acreage to pasture for beef cattle and hay production. Dairy production and forestry remained strong. Therefore, increased emphasis was placed on the agronomy, beef, dairy, and forestry research programs, and these remain important today.

The Hill Farm's first resident director (then called superintendent), Dawson M. Johns (1947 to 1980), was the driving force behind the station's planning, construction, equipping, and staffing. Mastitis research began at the station in 1960 under the guidance of the station's second resident director, W. Nelson Philpot (1980 to 1995). A Mastitis Research Laboratory was subsequently built in 1968 and expanded in 1985.  David G. Morrison was the third resident director and served from 1995 to 1997.

Situated on the interior Coastal Plain of north Louisiana, the Hill Farm is generally considered to serve the parishes of Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln, Union, Webster, and Winn as well as portions of several other parishes. All research programs receive wide recognition, not only within the state, but also nationally and internationally. While all programs of the Hill Farm Research Station continue to make an important contribution to the economic development of Louisiana, increased research emphasis on forestry and water quality will be especially beneficial to the stakeholders in the area served by the Hill Farm Research Station.