About Us

The Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL) in Sidney, MT is one of more than 120 Agricultural Research Service (ARS) facilities. ARS is the in-house research agency for the United States Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), and conducts research to solve agricultural problems of a high national priority.  (Click here to read about some national agricultural issues being studied at NPARL,for some examples, or for more information, check out our "Science" section at left.)
 

Located near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, NPARL is in the heart of the "Mon-Dak" region. Eastern Montana and western North Dakota are rich in history and agricultural potential. The "Corps of Discovery," the official name of Lewis and Clark’s expedition, camped in the area in both their outward and return journeys. The NPARL, and its partners, are a new ‘corps of discovery,’ contributing to the region’s on-going agricultural expansion and diversification.

The NPARL mission is to develop ecologically based strategies, technologies, and products for the sustainable management of crops and rangeland, and natural resource systems. Current research is focused on three main areas: biological control of selected noxious weeds, insect pests and fungal pathogens; the ecology and management of grasshoppers; and development of sustainable irrigated and dryland agricultural production systems. In addition to providing new knowledge, this research is catalyzing the development of improved management practices for sustainable agricultural and rangeland production systems in the Northern Great Plains.

NPARL’s Dr. Anthony Caesar, a plant pathologist with the Sidney, MT ARS lab’s Pest Management Research Unit, has been asked to give a seminar at the University of Geneva (Geneva, Switzerland), Department of Vegetative Biology on November 11. Dr. Caesar’s presentation is entitled “Biological Control of Invasive Plants and the Application of Ecological Data, a Case Study.” Dr. Caesar was invited to speak by Dr. Francisco Barja, and, following his formal presentation, will meet with Dr. Barja and department students and staff to answer questions and discuss possible joint projects.

Several scientists from NPARL’s Pest Management Research Unit (PMRU) will be participating in the 2004 annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America to be held in Salt Lake City, UT, Nov. 13-18.