Salmon was born in
South Dakota and received a B.S. degree from
South Dakota State University, a M.S. degree from
Kansas State University and a Ph.D. degree from the
University of Minnesota. He taught and conducted research on wheat production at Kansas State from 1913 to 1931. In 1931, he became Principal Agronomist in the
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) "Office of Cereal Crops and Diseases". While serving as the cereal crops consultant with the U.S. Army of Occupation in Japan after World War II, Salmon noted the vigorous, productive semi-dwarf wheats developed in Japan. He collected 16 varieties of the wheats including
Norin 10 and sent seeds of those wheats to the USDA Small Grains Collection. These seeds were used by
Orville Vogel at
Washington State University to develop the variety ‘Gaines,’ which holds the world record for wheat yields, and Norin 10 was used by
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in
Mexico to develop the varieties that started the
Green Revolution. Salmon went on to serve two years in the
Philippines helping to rehabilitate the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture at Los Baños (
UPLB) and undertook four tours with the U.S.
Agency for International Development. He co-authored several books on experimental design in agricultural research, including
The principles and practice of agricultural research, published by L. Hill in 1964. ==See also==