As the Hatch Act of 1887 — the landmark federal legislation that continues to support our research enterprise — approaches its 140th anniversary in 2027, we have a meaningful opportunity to reflect on decades of life-changing impact and to look ahead to the exciting momentum building across the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station (MoAES).
The Hatch Act strengthened the land-grant university system by providing dedicated federal funding to establish Agricultural Experiment Stations in every state. These stations conducted scientific research on crops, livestock, soils, plant diseases and farm management, creating a nationwide system for generating and sharing practical agricultural knowledge.
The Act formally established research as a core mission of land-grant universities, complementing their teaching mission, and laid the foundation for the modern U.S. agricultural research enterprise. By promoting science-based innovations, the Hatch Act helped increase agricultural productivity, improve farm profitability and support the long-term competitiveness of American agriculture.
Just a year after the act passed, in 1888, the MoAES was established. The same year, Dean J.W. Sanborn established Rotation Field — now the third oldest continuous long-term research plots in the world. The field was renamed to honor Sanborn in 1926 — and named a National Historic Landmark in 1965.
MoAES is not only our network of farms and centers across the state showcasing applied research and demonstrations, but also the basic, foundational agricultural research happening in labs and greenhouses across the Mizzou campus.
Throughout Road to Discovery’s 2026 edition, pages will be tagged as “Impact in Action,” “Rooted in Innovation” and “On the Horizon,” showcasing where we have been and where we are headed. In the opening feature story, Tim Reinbott, assistant director of the Central Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center, reflects on the transformational impact of applied agricultural research — from his early experiences as a young Field Day attendee to the groundbreaking innovations he has observed and advanced in 40 years at Mizzou.
Our cover story focuses on new technologies we test for and with producers and landowners to identify best practices and evaluate financial viability, including virtual livestock fencing. Additional features highlight cross-campus collaborations that extend our expertise into human health therapies, pharmaceutical discoveries, rural energy policy, new specialty crop markets and much more.
The Hatch Act and the agricultural experiment stations it established remain foundational to our nation’s progress — and the federal investment that sustains this work continues to be essential to advancing agricultural research and making farming profitable. I am proud to serve as director of MoAES and deeply value the role our researchers play in improving daily life, from providing the food on our plates and in our animals’ troughs to supporting the clothing on our backs and the fuel in our tanks.
As you read the pages that follow, I invite you to celebrate the enduring value of long-term agricultural research and the sustained public investment that makes it possible. Together, they continue to transform agriculture, strengthen communities, and improve lives across Missouri and beyond.