Arbor Day
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1885-1889 : Martin)
Date: 1885-1889
These letters are from various individuals regarding Arbor Day to Kansas Governor John Martin. Some are asking if there is an Arbor Day or supporting the celebration of Arbor Day, especially educators and schools. Others are asking for a proclamation from the governor and copies of it. Many letters also discuss planting trees as the main activity for an Arbor Day celebration.

Arno Knox farm, McAllaster, Logan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1915 and 1925
This series of photographs shows different perspectives of men and horses polwing and planting on Arno Knox's farm near McAllaster in Logan County, Kansas.

Bottle of turkey red wheat
Date: 1974
Glass bottle containing turkey red variety of wheat seed. Charles Goebbel, of Burlingame, Kansas, purchased this bottle in 1974. That year residents of Goessel, Kansas, sold these bottles to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the introduction of turkey red wheat in Kansas. According to legend, German Mennonites emigrating from Russia first planted hard winter wheat in Goessell in 1874. Turkey red proved highly adaptable to the Kansas climate and provided greater yields than any previous variety.

Chapter V: Attitudes of mind, in The future of the Great Plains: Report of the Great Plains Committee
Creator: Great Plains Committee
Date: December 1936
This report was created by the Great Plains Committee, which had been called by the President to investigate the effects of drought and wind erosion in the southwestern United States. For the purposes of the committee, the Great Plains region was composed of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. In Chapter V, the committee argues that farmers' lack of understanding about effective agricultural techniques, combined with severe drought, had created the critical situation that existed during the Dust Bowl. Certain "attitudes of mind," such as the idea that natural resources are inexhaustible, were the root cause of farmers' problems. The chapter outlines some of these attitudes and assumptions that had proved to be unreliable.

Chase County farmers
Date: 1933-1948
These photographs show farmers in Chase County, Kansas, including Ross Ritchie, engaged in plowing, planting, and pest control. These photographs originally appeared in the Chase County Extension Office annual reports.

Deer Mandible Tools from the Country Club Site, 14CO3
Date: 1400-1725 CE
These two deer mandible tools were excavated from a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village site in Cowley County during Phase IV archeological investigations in 1995. One mandible is nearly complete, the other has the horizontal ramus. Both mandibles show signs of modification and polish. The smaller one seems to have been stabilized with a wash of glue. Tools such as these could have been used as hide scrapers, corn shellers, or as an agricultural tool to aid in planting seeds. The site had been much impacted by a water line, golf greens, roads, and highways. Excavations had been occurring at the site since 1916.

Drilling wheat, Belpre, Kansas
Date: 1916
This black and white photograph shows a group of men with horse-drawn equipment drilling wheat near Blepre, Kansas.

Drilling wheat, Stevens County, Kansas
Date: Between 1950 and 1956
This black and white photograph shows three men, possibly drilling wheat, in Stevens County, Kansas.

Dust Bowl farmers reseeding sod land
Creator: Topeka Capital
Date: February 27, 1944
This brief article discusses how farmers in southwestern Kansas were reseeding sod on land that had formerly been planted with wheat. This reseeding effort, which aimed to stabilize soil, was directed by the Soil Conservation Service.

Edna Heim to Clarice Snoddy
Creator: Heim, Edna
Date: August 31, 1938
Tenant farmers Bill and Edna Heim of Kensington, Kansas, wrote this letter to farm owner Clarice Snoddy of Topeka regarding drought conditions and government soil conservation programs on the farm. The letter demonstrates the use of local and federal government programs to counter the removal of a dangerous amount of topsoil from farms on the southern Plains. Kansas began appealing for emergency federal aid in 1937 to counter sever drought and wind erosion in what is commonly known as the Dust Bowl.

Emigrants' guide to the Kansas Pacific Railway lands
Creator: Kansas Pacific Railway Company
Date: April 1871
A railroad company advertisement to emigrants promising cheap, abundant and good land for agricultural purposes.

Horse drawn planters in Sedgwick County, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1915
This is a postcard view showing horse drawn planters in Sedgwick County, Kansas.

Kansas. A complete and comprehensive description of the agricultural, horticultural, stock raising and mineral resources of Kansas
Creator: Union Pacific Railway Company
Date: 1903
This Union Pacific Railroad pamphlet promotes Kansas as an abundant and ideal place to settlement.

Loren Snell farm, Page, Logan County, Kansas
Date: 1917
This series of photographs show Loren Snell working on his fields with an Emerson tractor near Page in Logan County, Kansas.

Planting a crop in Seward County, Kansas
Date: Between 1900 and 1910
This photograph shows two farmers planting a crop with mule drawn equipment in Seward County, Kansas.

Planting corn in Sheridan County, Kansas
Date: Between 1920 and 1935
This photograph shows corn planting possibly in the 1930's in Sheridan County, Kansas. The tractor is a Wallace with steel wheels.

Planting crops, Morton County, Kansas
Date: Between 1940 and 1945
This photograph shows two seed drills being pulled by a tractor, Morton County, Kansas.

Planting equipment on Elmer Nicholson's farm near Jennings, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1915
This is a photograph of Elmer Nicholson with his daughters Elma and Velda posed by a tractor and planter near Jennings, Kansas.

Planting soy beans in the Kansas River valley, Shawnee County, Kansas
Creator: Kelsey, Francis
Date: May 08, 2012
Here are two video clips showing Francis Kelsey using precision technology, GPS auto steer, and real time mapping to plant soy beans in the Kansas River valley, Shawnee County, Kansas. Auto steer, which uses GPS, allows the tractor to drive itself in the field, and farmers only need to assist it at the end of rows. Using the GPS technology, it makes sure fertilizers and herbicides are applied only where needed and in the correct amount and rows are evenly spaced. It also helps prevent overlapping or missing areas during planting. Both aspects help farmers save seed and chemical usage resulting in cost control.

Planting trees for a shelterbelt in Kansas
Date: 1936
A photograph showing McPherson Nursery's employees planting trees for a shelterbelt at an unknown location in Kansas.

Plowing and planting a field, Morton County, Kansas
Date: Between 1940 and 1945
A farmer loads seed into a planter, Morton County, Kansas.

Scenes of Sherman County, Kansas
Date: 1890-1930
Multiple scenes of Sherman County, Kansas.

Starting an orchard at the Agricultural Experiment Station at Fort Hays, Kansas
Date: 1910
This photograph shows people planting fruit trees at the Agricultural Experiment Station at Fort Hays, Kansas. This station was acquired through a grant from the United States on March 27, 1900, which gave Kansas the abandoned Fort Hays Military Reservation with the condition the state establish and maintain an experimental station of the Kansas Agricultural College; a western branch of the Kansas State Normal School; and a public park. It originally consisted of 4,000 acres and in 1948, 1,134 acres were purchased. This experimental station was equipped to conduct experimental work with soils, crops, livestock, horticulture, and forestry. All of the soils and crop work were in cooperation with the United States Agricultural Research Service and the Soil Conservation Service.