MU alumni produce agriculture products that help increase food production

Two NIFA grants will help Henry Nguyen tackle issues related to soybeans

Final and preliminary cotton variety trial results are now available

What is your research focus?
The focus of my research is to improve management at corn planting. Improving planter performance can improve stand establishment and maintain yield potential. Stand establishment may be improved through selecting the planting depth that is most suitable for uniform germination and emergence. The goal of my research is to assess the impact of planting depth on varying soil textures and landscape positions on emergence uniformity and yield.

Why does this field interest you?
From a young age, I have observed and assisted my father to conduct agronomic research in fields across southern Ontario. I have always been impressed with the equipment and technology involved in farming operations. Recent incorporation of sensors into field equipment and more accurate precision agriculture software provide new management opportunities to improve yield and efficiency. I think making field decisions that manage field variability and maximize efficiency is an important challenge for advancing agriculture.

Why did you decide to come to Mizzou?
I chose to attend Mizzou because of the research being conducted here. I was impressed with the Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit, including my advisor Newell Kitchen. I recognized these scientists, including their technicians, were very knowledgeable and I could learn a lot from them.

What are your future career plans?
Following graduation, I plan to work in Extension and help producers implement research on their farms and fields.

There are three basic types of reviewers/readers:

• Critical readers – read every page carefully from beginning to end, picking the proposal apart as they read
• Search readers – they might speed-read the entire proposal first, then search for the parts to enable them to write comments for the review rubric
• Skimmers – skim through the proposal, reading parts they consider important, skipping other parts

You might have all three types reviewing your proposal.  How do you make them all happy?

• Start your proposal off with an overview of the entire project that does not include too much technical language. This is especially necessary for the people who are “big picture” people and want a sense of the whole project before getting into the details.
• Use headers which include keywords from the funding opportunity. This helps the search readers who might be using the “Find” feature to get to the part that matches the critique form. It also helps the skimmers by calling their attention to the start of a new section. The use of the key words assures the critical readers that you have paid attention to the guidelines and are concerned with presenting the information logically.
• Start each subsection with an overview of the subsection with very little technical language. This helps the skimmers get a sense of the project without reading all the detail. It also provides clues to the search readers to tell if that section might provide the information they’re looking for.
• End each subsection with a brief summary of the detail you just presented. This is also a good place to mention outcomes or impact of the section. This closing paragraph is particularly important for the skimmers. It also reassures the critical readers that you’ve thought through the process and have a reasonable expectation of results.

Guyette honored with lifetime achievement award

Rich Guyette, research professor emeritus, School of Natural Resources, has received the Herbert Stoddard Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Fire Ecology (AFE). The 2019 Lifetime Achievement awardees have demonstrated a career’s worth of meaningful contributions to expanding our understanding and application of fire ecology, and have inspired and mentored a generation of fire scientists and managers, according to AFE. From his first peer-reviewed fire-scar history article published in 1982, Guyette is one of the most published and cited scientists of fire ecology literature in the eastern U.S. Across the eastern U.S. in particular, his research has been instrumental in justifying the need for fire management including landscape-scale restoration projects on federal and state lands, according to AFE.

Li receives Connecting with Missouri Grant

Christine Li, assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, was recently named one of the first recipients of the Connecting With Missouri grant from the Connector, a UM system resource. She specializes in environmental education research and teaching; her project is titled, “Climate Youth Engagement: Enhancing Climate Literacy and Community Resilience through Science-Based Deliberative Forums and Actions.”

Plant Sciences grad students win awards at recent meeting

The North Central Weed Science Society of America honored three Plant Sciences graduate students with awards in the Graduate Paper Contest during the recent annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio.

• Will Tubbs, master’s student, received first place in the Agronomic Crops Section
• Eric Oseland, doctoral student, placed second in the Agronomic Crops Section
• Jerri Lynn Henry, doctoral student, earned second place in the Equipment and Application Methods Section.

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

Kevin W. Bradley, Integrating Best Management Practices for Weeds with Multiple Herbicide Resistance in Soybean Production Systems (FY20), 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $115,000, Agricultural Research Service

Pengyin Chen, Towards the Development of High-Yielding Cultivars & Germplasm with Optimum Oil and Protein Content and Innovative Oil Attributes for the Current Market, 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $66,816, Ohio State University

Pengyin Chen, Discovery and deployment of novel genes for durable resistance to multiple nematode population in soybean, 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $55,843, University of Georgia

Daniel Downing, Heartland Extension Disaster Education Network Building Resiliency in the Heartland, 9/1/2019-8/31/2021, $97,937, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Felix Fritschi, Utilizing Genes from the Soybean Germplasm Collection to Mitigate Drought Stress, 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $180,192, University of Arkansas

James Heiser, Successfully Deploying Post-Emergence + Overlapping Residual: Calendar vs. Weed Height?, 1/1/2020-12/31/2020, $10,750, Cotton Inc.

Dae-Young Kim, Enhancing the Economic Sustainability of Missouri Agritourism, 12/2/2019-1/29/2021, $155,000, Missouri Agriculture and Small Business Development Authority

Mengshi Lin, Effect of Nanocellulose and Food Matrix on Mucosal Structure, Nutrient Absorption and Colonic Fermentation, 9/1/2019-8/31/2022, $84,323, University of Georgia

Kevin Rice, Soybean Gall Midge: Surveying the North Central Region, Adult Monitoring and Host Plant Resistance, 10/1/2019-8/31/2020, $10,000, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Andrew M. Scaboo, Discovery and deployment of novel genes for durable resistance to multiple nematode population in soybean, 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $39,997, University of Georgia

Andrew M. Scaboo, Increasing Genetic Diversity, Yield, and Protein of US Commercial Soybean Germplasm, 10/1/2019-8/31/2021, $73,890, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

William Stevens, Cotton Nitrogen Management with Urea and Controlled Release Fertilizer Mixtures on Silt Loam Soils, 1/1/2020-12/31/2020, $11,200, Cotton Inc.

Henry Nguyen, Modifying Soluble Carbohydrates in Soybean Seed for Enhanced Nutritional Energy Meal, 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $294,758, Purdue University

William Wiebold, Improving on Perfection: Gene Editing to Reduce or Eliminate Anti-Nutritional Factors in Soybean Seeds that have been Shown to Reduce Economic Value, 10/1/2019-9/30/2020, $139,380, Purdue University

Jeffrey Wood, Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) Project Phase Four, 10/3/2016-9/30/2021, $48,000, Oak Ridge National Lab

Provided by the MU Office of Research

Hay expense, not supplement, drives winter feed cost
Herald-Whig

300-bushel corn yields reached in Missouri
Missouri Ruralist

Weather, herbicide damage impact trials
Missouri Farmer Today

Will Robinson named Missouri Ruralist’s College Farmer
Missouri Ruralist

The photo featured in the header shows that winter weather has already hit the University of Missouri. Nearly a year ago, the city of Columbia was greeted with one of the largest snowstorms in the town’s history – nearly 17 inches. Columbia ended up with around 30 inches of snow in total during the winter months, including some during the spring. Tony Lupo, a University of Missouri professor of atmospheric sciences, said mid-Missourians shouldn’t see that much snow as the calendar turns to 2020, but there could definitely be a few snow days. Lupo said long-range forecasts also show winter temperatures could be a bit below averages.