Soybean

Alex Mangialardi

May 27, 2025

Alex Mangialardi

Educational background…

Xiaoping Xin.

March 30, 2025

Xiaoping Xin

Dr. Xin’s research focuses on soil biogeochemistry processes, climate-resilient soil management, soil remediation, soil-plant interactions, crop production, precision agriculture, nanotechnology-enabled agriculture, and environmental risk assessment. She is committed to bridging the gap between academic research and practical agricultural applications, aiming to lead innovative studies in soil fertility and plant nutrition that enhance agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability in Missouri and beyond. Educational background Courses taught…

Jason Franken

Aug. 14, 2024

Jason R.V. Franken

My research is interdisciplinary by nature, drawing from economics, marketing, and decision sciences to understand the organization of marketing channels (i.e., transactions, contracts, and cooperatives) for adding value and managing risk. Educational background Courses taught…

Alejandro Plastina

Aug. 14, 2024

Alejandro Plastina

Plastina is the Director of the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) at the University of Columbia-Missouri. His area of specialization is agricultural production and technology, with an emphasis on farm business and financial management. He has received multiple awards, including the 2023 Iowa State University (ISU) ANR Extension Team Award, the 2023 Outstanding Choices Magazine Article Award from the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, the 2022 Dean’s Citation for Extraordinary Contributions to the ISU College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the 2021 Farm Foundation Agricultural Economics Fellowship, the 2021 ISU Office of the President Excellence…

Hong An smiling.

Nov. 20, 2023

Hong An

Educational background…

Amy Petry smiling.

June 4, 2023

Amy Petry

Petry is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Animal Science at the University of Missouri, where she leads the MU Monogastric Nutrition Research Lab. Her lab utilizes basic and innovative science to develop, advance, or improve applied nutrition solutions. Her team’s research themes encompass: 1) enhancing fiber utilization and its impact on energy and health benefits in swine diets, 2) exploring the interactions between diet and physiology at a whole-body level, 3) optimizing energy and nutrient supply during homeorhetic states, and 4) developing nutritional biomedical pig models. In 2020, Dr. Petry earned her Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

Doug Spaunhorst

Feb. 14, 2023

Doug Spaunhorst

Educational background…

Portrait of Chase Floyd

Jan. 11, 2023

Chase Floyd

Chase Floyd joined MU Extension in 2023 as an assistant research professor and state extension specialist for crop protection. In this position, he targets both entomological and pathological research and develop thresholds to maximize producer yield retention and incorporate new technology and methods to aid Missouri producers in controlling pests and retaining yield. His dissertation focused on creating a management regime for the rice billbug, which has recently earned major pest status. His time in Arkansas was spent obtaining as much biological and ecological information as possible on the previously unresearched pest. He developed techniques for controlling the rice…

Tian Peng posing.

Oct. 12, 2022

Peng Tian

Tian has an extension appointment in plant disease diagnosis. His responsibilities include management of Plant Diagnostic Clinic at University of Missouri and participation in Missouri Integrated Pest Management program and National Plant Diagnostic Network. His extension program provides identification services of plant disease, weed and insect as well as disease management recommendations to growers, agricultural professionals, agribusinesses, and the various commodity groups in the state. His research program focuses on identification of new plant diseases and development of innovative assays to characterize and differentiate viral and fungal pathogens in specialty crops to address current plant health problems and ensure…

Gurpreet Kaur

Sep. 21, 2022

Gurpreet Kaur

Kaur is based at the Northern Missouri Research, Extension, and Education Center, Novelty MO. Her responsibilities include conducting soil science research at the Northern Missouri Research, Extension, and Education Center farms including Lee Greenley Jr. Memorial farm, Cornett Research Farm, and Thompson Research Farm. Her research is focused on soil fertility and nutrient management to increase crop productivity, profitability, and nutrient use efficiency, while improving environmental quality. She is also interested in the impact of management practices such as tillage, crop rotations, cover crops, nutrient and water management on soil properties and agronomics. Specific research interests include evaluation of…