As we were crafting our strategic plan, Drive to Distinction, I could only imagine how it would transform our priorities, our college and our state. I am so proud to share that one of our Grand Ideas, the Show-Me-State Food, Beverage and Forest Products Manufacturing Initiative, has taken another big step.

On Friday, June 28, at Central Missouri Meat and Sausage in Fulton, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe signed an executive order establishing the Missouri Food, Beverage and Forest Products Manufacturing Task Force. Lt. Gov. Kehoe is chairing, and our first assignment is to host listening sessions across the state, beginning next month.

CAFNR also is at the forefront of other important initiatives across the state. Broadband internet has been a hot policy issue in the Missouri legislature the past several years. The United States Congress is also beginning to recognize the importance of this technology. Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst testified in a July 11 Congressional hearing on the need for greater broadband connectivity, emphasizing how modern agriculture requires data to thrive. CAFNR, MU Extension and other partners are working to find ways to help in this area, too.

Shibu Jose, our interim associate dean for research, spoke on the importance of agricultural technologies in a presentation to the Missouri House Economic Development Committee July 15.

I wanted to share with you that we have established a revisioning committee for Jefferson Farm & Garden. I look forward to working with this group to enlarge CAFNR’s vision for JFG.

I am also excited to announce that a CAFNR alumna, Kristy Weber (B.S. Animal Sciences ’87) will be our commencement speaker in December. Dr. Weber is the first female president of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. I am so proud of her accomplishments and look forward to hearing from her.

I will meet with the CAFNR Foundation Executive Committee on Wednesday; they are great partners for our college! Also this week, I will be making ice cream for our Life Sciences Quest summer academy for high school students. I love sharing my food science experiences with future CAFNR students! You can read more about our many exploratory summer academies later in this newsletter. Next up, I will present at the Great River Tigers Alumni Event, July 26, in Palmyra, and attend the Missouri Soybean Association Advisory Committee meeting and the 2019 Turfgrass & Landscape Field Day at South Farm, both on July 30.

I am pleased that our CAFNR Staff Advisory Council has installed an AED device at Bradford Research Center to fill a critical health and safety need for the hundreds of visitors to the Center each year. In addition, the council provided CPR/AED certification training to 90 employees across CAFNR to empower faculty and staff to save lives using the AED devices on campus. Thank you to the council for offering these resources, and thank you to each and every one of you who took advantage of the training opportunities. Taking time from your schedule to participate in this training shows the caring nature of our college.

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Independence Day celebration! I have enjoyed time spent with family this month, and look forward to great things in the coming academic year!

CAFNR Proud!

Christopher R. Daubert
CAFNR Vice Chancellor & Dean

CAFNR welcomed more than 90 high schoolers to campus this summer as part of our summer academies, which help the students learn about our degree programs and potential careers, as well as give them a taste of life on the Mizzou campus. Academies included the Animal Sciences Youth Leadership Academy, Life Sciences Quest, Mizzou Ag Communications Academy, Mizzou Teach Ag Academy, Mizzou Trap Academy, University of Missouri Pork Institute and Natural Resources Careers Academy. Highlights included:

• Life Sciences Quest: Thirty-two students are participating in LSQ this year. This camp is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Agriculture and helps introduce students to the science behind agriculture. This camp started yesterday, and runs through Thursday, July 25. Tours include CAFNR’s local Agricultural Research Centers including Bradford, campus laboratories, the St. Louis Zoo and Bayer Crop Science. Students will hear from Director Chris Chinn from Missouri Department of Agriculture, the Stanton Brothers and a career panel.
• Teach Ag Academy and Ag Communications Academies: Nine high school students attended the Teach Ag Academy, and seven participated in the Ag Communications Academy, both held July 7-9. Five current students helped with the academies, along with multiple business leaders and high school teachers who served as guest speakers.
• Natural Resources Careers Academy: Ten students from eight counties across Missouri attended the academy, held June 23-28. On the post-academy evaluation, students strongly agreed the academy increased their knowledge and willingness to take actions to help solve environmental and natural resources issues. The academy challenged the students to examine different aspects associated with natural resources issues from economic, social, ecological and cultural perspectives. Supporters of the academy included Prairie Fork Charitable Endowment Trust, CAFNR, Missouri Department of Conservation, Conservation Federation of Missouri and Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
• Mizzou Trap Academy: The sixth annual Mizzou Trap Academy had 20 participants the week of June 19-21. Over the three days the students shot just under 10,000 rounds, learning new skills in trap shooting. In the classroom, the students learned focus and concentration, leadership, goal setting and practice routines, stress management, and athletic pre-competition nutrition. The academy was hosted by Prairie Grove Shotgun Sports with additional sponsorship from Ducks Unlimited, Pheasant and Quail Forever, National Wild Turkey Federation, Midway USA Foundation, The National Rifle Association, Smithfield Pork Production, Heartland Coca–Cola, LaCrosse Lumber, along with Winchester ammunition and our official sponsor Federal Ammunition.
• University of Missouri Pork Institute: Twelve Missouri youths attended this summer institute, held June 10-12. The event exposes youths interested in pork industry careers to MU academic programs and agricultural businesses. Students heard from Mizzou experts and toured a local business, the MU Swine Research Farm and the Animal Sciences Research Center. Two attendees were awarded scholarships to CAFNR. The institute was sponsored by the Missouri Pork Association and CAFNR.

Don’t Miss
Dean’s Roaming Office Hours will be Tuesday, July 23, from 3-4 p.m. at Buck’s Ice Cream Place.

Did You Know?
A communications toolkit for the CAFNR Strategic Plan is now available on MyCAFNR. Find talking points, a one-pager, PowerPoint slides and template, and graphic elements to drop into presentations and other communication. The toolkit was created to help share consistent messaging about our plan and its elements. Find all of these pieces on MyCAFNR or bookmark the Box folder. CAFNR Marketing and Communications will update the Box folder as more elements become available. Let us know if there are other communication pieces that might be helpful to you.