David Hopkins

Michael D. Sweeney (Mike) served the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment
Station (NDAES) and North Dakota farmers and irrigators for nearly 35 years
from the mid-1950s through the early 1990s. His research focused on soil water
dynamics and soil water compatibility for irrigation and he directed the detailed
soil surveys of the organized irrigation districts of the state. Surveys were
completed for the Warwick-McVille area, Eddy County, the Lincoln Valley in
Sheridan County, and lastly the Karlsruhe and Souris River Organized Districts in
McHenry County. Mike also collaborated in detailed pedology work near the
Oakes test plots with NDAES and ND State Water Commission hydrologists.
Additionally, Mike conducted intensive soils surveys of the Langdon, Minot and
Williston Research and Extension Centers. Many graduate students were
trained in soil/landscape relationships by Mike as part of these surveys and he
freely shared his expertise with numerous other graduate students and faculty
researchers to identify soils on research sites on the main station and outstate.
Mike was a no-nonsense field man, with a remarkable knowledge of the soils of
North Dakota.