I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your efforts over the past few weeks. Many of you had to ramp down your on-campus research projects on a very short timeframe. Others are continuing essential research functions including keeping laboratories running on a small staff (perhaps even solo!), continuing testing soil and water for our agricultural and natural resources industries, keeping our Agricultural Experiment Station Research Centers open for critical food-system research and caring for our livestock. Not to be deterred by the many changes happening, I have heard that many of you are spending this time away from the office writing grant proposals for future research projects.

As both a land-grant college and a top-tier research institution, our faculty and staff take vital research from the lab to the field; from the benchtop to the barnyard. What each of you does is critical. We appreciate and applaud your efforts every day, but especially over the past few weeks. It is clear that with all of us working together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish!

Stay safe and healthy!

Shibu Jose
Associate Dean for Research
Director, MO Agricultural Experiment Station

Agricultural Experiment Station balancing research, proper safety protocols during pandemic

Seven Agricultural Research Centers planted a total of seven acres of hemp throughout the state in 2019

The CAFNR Office of Research is pleased to announce the CAFNR Research Council Webinar Series, featuring a weekly speaker discussing a timely topic. Registration is required. Next week’s seminar is:

• Wednesday, April 15, 2 p.m., “Role of Agroforestry During a Global Health Crisis: Supporting Regional Food Security and Human Health,” Sarah Lovell, H.E. Garrett Endowed Chair Professor and the Director for the Center for Agroforestry. With a focus on the analysis and design of multifunctional landscapes, Dr. Lovell’s research program emphasizes whole-farm planning, productive agroforestry, and urban agriculture. Register online today.

The Connector Awards Two CAFNR Researchers Connecting With Missouri Grants

CAFNR awardees of The Connector’s Connecting with Missouri grants include:

Rebecca North, assistant professor, School of Natural Resources,
“Reservoir Observer Student Scientists (ROSS): Connecting High School Students With Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring,” Amount: $4,932.45

Jibin Baby, graduate student, Hospitality Management,
“Agritourism in Missouri: Engagement, Outreach, and Broader Impacts,” Amount: $1,300

CAFNR faculty members have received the following recent grants (listed by Principal Investigator):

Michael E. Byrne, Assessing Mesocarnifore Distribution, Occupancy, and Relative Abundance, with a Focus on Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale putorius interrupta) and Prairie Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus ochythous), 2/1/2020-6/30/2020, $98,395, Missouri Department of Conservation

Maria Fabregas Janeiro, Expanding 4-H to Urban Latino/a Audiences, 9/1/2019-8/31/2024, $29,631, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Maria Fabregas Janeiro, Expanding 4-H to Urban Latino/a Audiences, 9/1/2019-8/31/2024, $87,000, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Ted Probert, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship: Building Capacity, Curriculum, and Partnerships for Nationwide Work-Based Training of Beginning Dairy Farmers, 1/1/2020-7/31/2020, $18,500, Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship

Mallory Rahe, Taking Farm and Forest to the Glass: The Economic Contribution of Missouri’s Distilling Industry,11/25/2019-7/31/2020, $71,581, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Robert Sharp, MCA-PGR: Physiological Genomics of Maize Nodal Root Growth under Drought, 3/15/2016-2/28/2021, $51,165, NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences

For Farmers, Stimulus Bill Means Subsidies Continue to Flow
New York Times

New Soybean Variety With Alternative Source of Soybean Cyst Nematode Resistance Shows Promise
Successful Farming

The header photo is from MU Equine Teaching Facility. Spring is foaling season, and students are able to continue foal watch virtually via Zoom from cameras installed in the barn. Seven foals have since joined the barn crew so far this spring!