Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Grain just as nature works long-term to the diamond gem, she works equally well in producing short-term yields for the very survival of mankind food. As a land-grant university, K-State has a special concern for nature ' s role in the area of agriculture. Boasting the only grain science degree programs in America, K-State is interested in nature ' s effects upon grain. And the federal government attempted to help nature and American farmers during the 1983 growing season with its Payment In Kind (PIK) program. The program sought to limit the amount of land planted in crops in which surpluses existed. But nature had other plans. Kansas farmers reduced thousands of planted acres of planted crops, wheat. But ideal growing conditions brought the winter wheat yield to near record levels, despite the huge reduction in acres planted. But for other crops, it was a different story. Not only did the PIK program bring down yields, but nature did its unpredictable part by most of Kansas with its driest since the dirty ' 30s. It became quite apparent that nature, far more than government programs, could have the greatest impact on nature ' s gift of grain. Photo by Hurriyet Aydogan Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of 8 grain