After decades of basic research that led to successful scientific innovations, Randall Prather and his team of investigators at the National Swine Resource and Research Center (NSRRC) at the University of Missouri have become the go-to source for genetically modified pigs used by researchers across the United States to study various diseases that impact humans. Keeping up with the ever-growing…
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$25 Million MU Grant to Help Farmers Adopt Climate-Smart Practices
USDA award is the largest federal research, education and extension grant ever awarded to an MU faculty member
In recent years, floods, droughts and other severe weather have significantly impacted farmers throughout the country. In an effort to help farmers adapt to the changing climate, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded the University of Missouri $25 million – the largest federal research, education and extension grant ever awarded to MU – from the Partnerships for…
Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center Releases Missouri Farm Income Outlook
State-level report identifies key changes in projected net farm income
The Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) at the University of Missouri has released a groundbreaking tool for agricultural finance and policy, the fall 2022 Missouri Farm Income Outlook. The report includes the impact of weather, geopolitical conflict and other factors on net farm income in the Show-Me State. “Our report shows that Missouri net farm income is…
Small RNA Have Big Implications for Crop Growth
Learn more about Blake Meyers, the 12th MU faculty member to be elected to prestigious National Academy of Sciences
https://youtu.be/RTuaMzvqLFs Blake Meyers’ interest in plant science reaches back to his childhood, when he helped his mother tend to the family garden of flowers and vegetables in Williamsburg, Virginia. Today, Meyers is a professor of plant science and technology at the University of Missouri and a researcher at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, an independent, not-for-profit research institute in…
Signaling ‘Stressed-Out’ Plants
For more than 30 years, Ron Mittler has studied a chemical compound called reactive oxygen species, and his ongoing work is uncovering a new view on its importance
A CAFNR plant scientist has discovered a new way of measuring stress in plants, which comes at a time when plants are experiencing multiple stressors from heat, drought and flooding because of extreme weather events. The discovery involves a once maligned collection of molecules called reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are produced by anything that uses oxygen, like animals, people…
Zinc Key Regulator of Sperm Functions During Capacitation Process
Findings have implications for improving fertility outcomes in animals and humans
Scientists have struggled to fully understand how male sperm cells function and why they sometimes fail to fertilize female eggs, which has implications for both livestock farmers aiming to maximize food production, as well as human couples struggling with infertility. In a new study at the University of Missouri, researchers found that zinc ion plays a crucial regulatory role in the…
Food Pantries Serve Critical Needs for Hungry Missourians
Unprecedented study from MU Interdisciplinary Center for Food Security highlights tough choices made by those who use food pantries and key roles played by hunger relief organizations across Missouri
Missourians using food pantries made difficult trade-offs to feed their families in 2021. A new report from the University of Missouri found that 46% of food pantry clients had to choose between paying for food or utilities last year, while 38% had to decide between paying for food or medicine/medical care and 34% had to choose between purchasing food or…
CAFNR Professor Elected to National Academy of Sciences
Blake Meyers is the 12th MU faculty member to be elected to the prestigious academy
Blake Meyers, a professor of plant science and technology in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, was elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Election to membership in the NAS is considered one of the highest honors a U.S. scientist can receive. Meyers was notified of his selection Tuesday, May 3, and is…
FAPRI-MU Updates U.S. Agricultural Market Snapshot
Update reflects impacts to agricultural markets from recent global events
The 2022 FAPRI-MU baseline outlook has been updated to include the large impacts on agricultural markets in the last three months, reflecting higher farm receipts and costs and higher consumer food prices. The initial outlook released in March was based on information available in January 2022. The partial update to the baseline is based on information available in mid-April…
CAFNR Celebrates Women’s History Month: Q&A with Sherry Flint-Garcia
Flint-Garcia is a CAFNR Column award winner and CAFNR alumna
Sherry Flint-Garcia (PhD Genetics Area Program ‘01) is a research geneticist and lead scientist with USDA and adjunct professor of Plant Science and Technology. In her lab, the research focus is on genetic diversity of maize and the impact of artificial selection on protein and amino acid composition of the kernels. She earned her PhD at Mizzou in the interdisciplinary…