For the past 20 years, Patrick Market has been a steady presence in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) School of Natural Resources (SNR).

Market, who has spent his entire professional career at MU, was hired in 1999 as an assistant professor of atmospheric science. He became an associate professor of atmospheric science in 2005, and moved to a full professor in 2013. Since January 2019, Market has also served as the interim director of SNR.

Market’s newest role in CAFNR, which was effective Nov. 1, is as the director of SNR.

Farming was and continues to be a popular occupation among the Hmong community in southwest Missouri, but there are challenges that come with the job.

With the help of a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Pei Liu, an assistant professor of hospitality management in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Applied Social Sciences, is looking to help Hmong farmers overcome some of those challenges.

When Nichole Anderson joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Animal Sciences in the fall of 2018, she was focused on bringing more technology into the classroom.

A recent grant, worth more than $270,000, focuses on using virtual reality to increase student understanding and interest in farm animal welfare. The four virtual reality modules that the grant will help develop will focus on operating, commercial dairy and swine farms.

What is your research focus?
As a PhD candidate in rural sociology, I am interested mostly in capitalism and modern-poverty, food insecurity, and social policies related to poverty reduction – both in the US and other countries. My dissertation research right now is very specific in small towns setting in southern Missouri. It is about the impact of Walmart’s store closure in small towns and how the residents perceive permanent closure of this giant global retail? Using drop-off and pick-up surveys in five small towns, I am looking for the answer to whether food-insecure households and the recipients of government assistance programs (those most in need) have a more substantial impact on Walmart’s store closure than others.

Besides working on the empirical field measuring rural communities’ vulnerability towards the recent economic downturn, I am exploring some ideas and involving myself in global research and discourse on the universal basic income experiment throughout the world.

Why does this field interest you?
There is much to learn about poverty. The poor are not a static group and economic insecurity can suddenly push millions of us into poverty at some point during our lives.

Poverty is associated with many negative aspects of living. It increases health risks, lower lifetime earnings, decreases mobility, weakens families and communities, and even threatens our democracy and costs our future. For this reason, poverty reduction should not become a political issue driven by political ideology or other misguided policies that have limited the poor from having opportunities to improve their lives. I believe that no one is secure until everyone is secure.

Why did you decide to come to Mizzou?
After I met in person with the MU International Center representatives, Jillian Collins and David Currey, in Jakarta, Indonesia (2016), I knew this campus is very special. The way they communicated with a new student and connecting me with all the resources I needed, was always constructive and supportive. As a student with a spouse and two kids, I also want to give them the best experience living abroad. Now, I realize coming to Mizzou and living in the city of Columbia is the best decision I ever made.

Who is your advisor?
Dr. Hua Qin is my current adviser. He is helping me to grow and become a better researcher. We are working together on some community survey projects – this is something I am really passionate about – and he gave me many opportunities to join lots of professional meetings in that field. I am very thankful to be surrounded by many incredible friends, colleagues, and mentors during my study at Mizzou – including Dr. Brady and Anne Deaton, who always are a constant source of inspiration to me.

What are your future career plans?
After graduation, before I go back to Indonesia and rejoin the Indonesian Institute of Sciences to continue my career as a researcher, I’d like to apply for a postdoctoral program to continue my training as a researcher. Teaching at the university has also always interested me, and I will look forward to that type of opportunity. Globally, I will continue supporting pro-poor public policies in Indonesia by strengthening collaboration and cooperation between researchers and policy makers across the borders.

Hua Qin Wins National Excellence Award as part of Research Team
Hua Qin, associate professor of environmental and resource sociology/demography in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS), is part of a multidisciplinary, multi-institution research team that was recently awarded the National Excellence in Multistate Research Award from the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This prestigious and highly competitive award recognizes scientists who conduct exemplary research and outreach efforts across multiple states and in doing so enhance the visibility of USDA multistate programs. The team was awarded the Western Region Excellence in Research Award this summer.

Read more at: Hua Qin Wins National Excellence Award as part of Research Team

David Patterson Named American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Fellow
For nearly 25 years, David Patterson has helped Missouri cattlemen get the most out of their beef cattle operations. Patterson piloted the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program early in his University of Missouri career. The program has now enrolled more than 150,000 heifers on more than 900 farms – and contributes more than $3.5 million annually to the Missouri economy.

“It is an honor to be named a Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science,” Patterson said. “The society has been an important part of my career, and it’s really exciting to receive this award.”

Read more at: David Patterson Named American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Fellow

CAFNR faculty members have received the following recent grants (listed by Principal Investigator):
Kevin Bradley, Comparison of Non-Chemical Control Methods as Part of an Integrated Weed Management Strategy in Soybean: Comparison of Weed Electrocution to At-Harvest Weed Seed Destruction as Part of an Integrated Weed Management Strategy in Soybean, 10/1/20-9/30/22, $99,200, North Central Soybean Research Program

Pengyin Chen, Towards the development of high-yielding cultivars & germplasm with optimum oil and protein content and innovative oil attributes for the current market, 10/1/20-9/15/21, $66,816, Ohio State University

Felix Fritschi, AgResearch Task Order #5, 10/1/20-9/30/21, $120,057, AgResearch

James Heiser, Seed Materials Trial: Protocol PHY-Yield-20, 5/18/20-12/31/20, $16,900, Dow Agroscience LLC

Henry Nguyen, Genetic improvement of flooding tolerance and best management practices for sustainable soybean production, 1/1/21-12/31/21, $348,525, Smith Bucklin and Associates

Andrew Scaboo, An integrated approach to enhance durability of SCN resistance for long-term, strategic SCN management (Phase III), 10/1/20-9/30/21, $500,000, North Central Soybean Research Program

John Tanner, Investigating the Proline Cycle as a Potential Cancer Therapy Target, 9/15/20-8/31/21, $368,805, NIH National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Christopher Topp, Graduate Student Support/August Thies, 7/1/20-6/30/21, $45,245, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Ranjith Udawatta, Training/Workshops/Field Days for Missouri Landowners, Farmers, and Agency Personnel to Promote Public Awareness on Conservation Practices for Improved Water Quality, Soil Health, and Enhanced Ecosystem Services, 9/28/20-9/27/21, $38,311, Department of Agriculture

Provided by the MU Office of Research

CAFNR Dissertation Research Improvement Grants
The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Office of Research is pleased to offer the CAFNR Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (C-DRIG) of up to $2,000 to support or partially support dissertation research projects proposed by doctoral students in the College. Eligible students will have completed their coursework and have advanced to candidacy or will advance to candidacy within six months of the C-DRIG awards.

• Application Deadline: Dec. 15, 2020
• Estimated Number of Awards: 5 Anticipated
• Funding Amount per Award: $2,000

Learn more on the CAFNR Research webpage and see how to apply.

One Health Research Symposium: The Future of Health
BioNexus KC invites University of Missouri graduate students to the One Health Research Symposium: The Future of Health. They have created a special code (Sensors) that provides a free all access pass to Mizzou students. One Health Research Symposium: The Future of Health on “biosensors and wearable sensors” will feature research showing the impact it is having in One Health (human, animal, and environmental health) applications. The use of biosensors in One Health applications has significant potential to enhance and accelerate the identification of disease conditions by providing access to real-time data to improve decision-making capabilities. This symposium will be Nov. 16-18 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The all-access pass also provides free registration to KC One Health Day on Nov. 19.

CAST Friday Notes
If you would like to be added to the CAFNR distribution of CAST Friday Notes, please contact Jessica Orsini at OrsiniJ@missouri.edu. See a sample of the CAST Friday Notes.

Farmers sought for fertilizer trials

The Farmer

New staff additions to AFBI’s US-Ireland bovine respiratory disease programme

Farm Week

Dry weather in the fall limits forage growth

Citizen Tribune

Virtual event set for women in agriculture

The Farmer

The header photo shows the 132nd harvest and 133rd wheat planting that happened recently at Sanborn Field in Columbia. Sanborn Field is the oldest, continuous experimental field west of the Mississippi River and the third oldest in the world. It was established in late 1888 by Dean J.W. Sanborn, who was looking to demonstrate the value of crop rotations and manure in grain crop production.