About the Bismarck Plant Materials Center

Updated 08/25/2008

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Bismarck Plant Materials Center (brochure) (PDF; 207 KB)

Description of the PMC Service Area

The Bismarck PMC serves portions of the northern Great Plains wheat region, western Great Plains range and irrigated region, northern lake states forest and forage region, and the central seed grains and livestock region. The areas of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota which the PMC services are commonly referred to as the "Northland". From the high plains and prairies of the Dakotas to the corn belt and forests of Minnesota, the Northland is a complex and productive area. People depend on its cropland and rangeland for food and fiber, its coal and taconite mines for energy and steel, its lakes and woods for recreation and serenity, and its wetlands and open spaces for wildlife and beauty. However, satisfying the demands people make on natural resources often causes erosion and other environmental problems. Along with the right to use natural resources is the responsibility to protect and restore the land. Plants are one of the best tools for this job of conservation. Effective conservation plants must be adaptable to the extremes of heat, cold, wind and drought in the northern plains states.

Average annual precipitation varies from 15 inches in North Dakota to 30 inches in parts of Minnesota, with 75 percent of the total precipitation received between April and September. Extreme fluctuations in annual precipitation is common. Elevation ranges from 800 feet to 7,000 feet. Temperatures fluctuate widely from -60 degrees to more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Major land uses are row cropping, grazing, pasture, hay land and mining.

The primary problems are wind and water erosion on cropland and pasture, roadside erosion, stream bank erosion, lake shore erosion, degrading water quality, and surface-mined land revegetation.

Getting to the Bismarck PMC

The Bismarck Plant Materials Center is located in Bismarck, ND,
just south of the Bismarck Municipal Airport on University Drive.

More Information on the PMC Location

PMC Operations

The Bismarck PMC operates through an agreement with the North Dakota Association of Soil Conservation Districts and the NRCS. The PMC has shared operations with the Lincoln-Oakes Association of Soil Conservation Districts Nursery in Bismarck, ND, since 1954. The PMC coordinates its testing and release program with many state and federal agencies, conservation district cooperators and commercial seed and tree growers.

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