Brian Munzlinger, who received his bachelor of science in agriculture from Mizzou in 1978, received the Citation of Merit Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association at CAFNR’s 2019 Celebration of Excellence awards ceremony Thursday, April 11.

Munzlinger is an advocate for agriculture and the Missouri legislative process, and has a deep appreciation for the value of higher education and specifically the land-grant mission of the University of Missouri. He is a former state senator (2011-18) and state representative (2003-10), and served as Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee and Chair of the House Agriculture Business Committee. Munzlinger is also the owner and operator of Munzlinger Farms, a multi-generational farm growing corn, soybeans and implementing forestry practices.

“Senator Munzlinger distinguished himself in his legislative career as not only a voice for agriculture but an experienced legislator whose opinion and reasoning was greatly respected by his peers and especially by his constituents. When he sponsored or co-sponsored a bill, it generally passed without a lot of issues because of the trust and respect of his peers. They knew him to be well prepared and to have thought carefully of the effect of such bills on the state as a whole,” said nominator Robin Wenneker, vice president of the Mizzou Alumni Association and past president of the CAFNR Foundation. “Often his bills in animal and plant sciences benefit the farmer but they also benefit the researchers and the students engaged in these disciplines. His legislative successes have allowed that part of our farm economy to move forward in new ways. The senator fully realized the impacts that technology, federal rules and the marketplace have on much of Missouri which also affects the welfare of the College and the University of Missouri.”