It gives me great pleasure in sharing some good news with you this week.  Our college has set a new record in grant awards in fiscal year (FY) 2021, which ended in June.  The shared credit total award to our faculty was $56.8M, which is nearly 45% higher than in FY20.  We also tripled the number of large grants (above $1M) in FY21 compared to the previous year.

Kudos to our faculty who helped achieve this important milestone.  I would also like to thank our pre- and post-award staff and OSPA (Office of Sponsored Programs Administration) for their superb help and support to our faculty.  Our research partners and collaborators also deserve credit for their support of the CAFNR research enterprise.

As you may recall, we have set a lofty goal of doubling our grant awards and expenditures by 2025 compared to baseline data from FY18.  We still have a long way to go; however, our trajectory looks promising!  Thank you for everything you do to drive the CAFNR research enterprise to Distinction!

Shibu Jose
CAFNR Associate Dean for Research

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded $500,000 in funding to the “MU-Osage Food & Agriculture Program for Tribal Student Recruitment, Engagement, and Success" project

Jared Decker, associate professor of animal sciences, published a new study in PLOS Genetics, that uncovered evidence that cattle are losing important environmental adaptations

Atmospheric Science Night at Jefferson Farm and Garden Postponed

Due to high heat indices, the Science Night at Jefferson Farm and Garden event scheduled for tonight, Thursday, July 29, has been postponed. The event will be rescheduled to a later date. For any questions, contact Tim Reinbott at reinbottt@missouri.edu

Mini Land-Grant Virtual Conference 2021

The North Central Region Mini-Land Grant Conference will be held virtually on August 2-3. Join agriculture and Extension colleagues from across the North Central region. Discussions on a wide variety of topics will be held including digital agriculture/smart farms and rural mental health.

Greenley Research Center in Novelty, Mo., will host their field day on Wednesday, Aug.4.

Agricultural Leadership, Communication and Education Faculty Receives Outstanding Research Presentation

Agricultural Leadership, Communication and Education faculty, Adam Cletzer, Rebecca Mott, John Tummons, Jon Simonsen, Jaelyn Peckman and Kate Preston won Outstanding Research Presentation award at the national American Association for Agricultural Education (AAAE) Research Conference in May. The paper was titled Agricultural Leadership: A National Portrait of Undergraduate Courses.”

Caio Canella Vieira awarded Corteva Developing Emerging Leaders and Talent in Agriculture (DELTA) Grant

Caio Canella Vieira was awarded a grant of $3,000 through the Corteva Developing Emerging Leaders and Talent in Agriculture (DELTA) program. Corteva DELTA is a new program that supports students in STEM-related disciplines. The program has two phases, where students are first selected to participate in the Corteva DELTA Symposium and then one student from each discipline is selected to receive a scholarship. Recipients also get a chance to interact with Corteva’s leadership and scientists for a year.

Henry Nguyen and Jianfeng Zhou Publish High-Throughput Crop Phenotyping Book

Henry Nguyen, professor of plant sciences, and Jianfeng Zhou, assistant professor in agricultural systems technology, co-edited a book titled High-Throughput Crop Phenotyping. This book provides an overview of the innovations in crop phenotyping using emerging technologies, i.e., high-throughput crop phenotyping technology, including its concept, importance, breakthrough and applications in different crops and environments.

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

Thomas Bonnot, Evaluating Ruffed Grouse Population Viability in Response to Forest Stewardship Activities in Northwestern New Jersey, Forest Service, 7/7/2021-12/31/2022, $15,000

Kevin Rice, Long-term Establishment of T. Planipennisi and O. Agrili at Sites Along a Gradient of Suitability, Department of Agriculture, 5/1/2021-4/30/2022, $77,037

Jon Simonsen, Farm Business Management Analysis Program, MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 7/1/2021-6/30/2022, $74,516

Jon Simonson, Agricultural Education In-Service Education Project, MO Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 7/1/2021-6/30/2022, $82,720

Thomas Spencer, Development of Gene-Editing Technologies in Poultry and Other Livestock, Agricultural Research SVC, 7/20/2021-7/19/2022, $316,899

Cattle losing adaptations to environment

Science Daily

Soybean gall midge an emerging invasive pest in Missouri

Brownfield Ag 

Drenchings damage Missouri corn, beans

Missouri Farmer Today 

The header photo is of the Land of the Osages Research Center’s newest members! These goats will participate in a replicated trial to study the impacts of goats grazing on the invasive weed, serica lespedeza.