CAFNR

University of Missouri Extension specialists and experts work to cultivate and promote an atmosphere of lifelong learning among Missourians. Those specialists and experts work with Missourians of all ages. Here, Eric Bailey, assistant professor in the Division of Animal Sciences and state beef Extension specialist, talks with farmers and producers during a field day at the Forage Systems Research Center, located in Linneus, Mo.. Photo taken pre-COVID.

April 1, 2021

Keeping Missourians Up to Speed

Lifelong learning. It’s an essential part of Agriculture and Environment Extension’s goal of doubling the value of Missouri agriculture by 2030 while sustaining the state’s natural resources. It’s a bold goal where lifelong learning meets real people. When Ron Brown was approached to check out the Missouri Master Gardener Extension Program, he thought the opportunity to expand his already extensive gardening knowledge would only help as he worked in his home garden and a community garden in Ferguson, Mo. Ron Brown has worked in gardens throughout his life. Halfway through his time in the Missouri Master Gardener Program, the director…
Cindy Greenwood

March 12, 2021

Q&A With Cindy Greenwood

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? I am the Executive Assistant in the School of Natural Resources. I provide support to our Director, Dr. Patrick Market. I handle his calendar, work with faculty on promotion and tenure, annual reviews, faculty hiring/interviews, event planning, and I am the Building Coordinator for ABNR. I also am a member of the Director’s Staff Advisory Team in SNR and Co-Chair of the CAFNR Staff Council. How long have you worked in CAFNR? I started in SNR on June 1, 2015. Previously on campus, I worked…
agriculture building with flowers blooming

Feb. 12, 2021

CAFNR Welcomes New Faculty

Our college has welcomed new faculty members each fall, but we have expanded our faculty welcomes to the spring, so that relevant introductions can take place at the beginning of each semester. The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri is proud to welcome new faculty members who are ready to immerse themselves in teaching, research and Extension as integral parts of furthering our land-grant mission. Our four new faculty members bring expertise in their fields, and will be representing three of our six divisions: Animal Sciences, Applied Social Sciences and Plant Sciences. Our college…
Faculty in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Department of Biochemistry recently received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to bring a state-of-the-art instrument to the MU campus – a Chirascan V100 circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer. Photo courtesy of Kamal Singh.

Feb. 9, 2021

A State-of-the-Art Instrument

Faculty in the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Department of Biochemistry recently received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to bring a state-of-the-art instrument to the MU campus – a Chirascan V100 circular dichroism (CD) spectrometer. The spectrometer is a widely applicable biochemical method for probing the secondary and tertiary structures of proteins, and nucleic acids in solution. The instrument will be housed at the Molecular Interactions Core, located in the Bond Life Sciences Center on the MU campus. It will be available for users across Mizzou on a fee-per-use basis. The new…
Dr. Heike Bucking

Jan. 25, 2021

Planting New Seeds

Heike Buecking, professor and head of the Biology and Microbiology Department at South Dakota State University (SDSU) College of Natural Sciences, has been named professor and director of the Division of Plant Sciences at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR). Buecking’s appointment is effective April 1, 2021. Buecking has held the department head position at SDSU since early 2020; she previously served as associate dean for research and scholarly activity in the College of Natural Sciences at South Dakota State. She has served as a professor in the Biology and Microbiology Department since 2015,…
Pavel Somavat joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Food Systems and Bioengineering (FSB) this year as an assistant professor of food science/biomedical, biological and chemical engineering. Somavat taught courses in food science and researched natural food colors, grain and biomass processing at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley before joining CAFNR. Somavat was at CCS Haryana Agricultural University before joining the faculty at Rio Grande Valley. Photo courtesy of Pavel Somavat.

Dec. 14, 2020

Working to Benefit Society

Pavel Somavat spent four years teaching electrical engineering at CCS Haryana Agricultural University, a land-grant university located in India. Somavat enjoyed the underlying philosophy and offerings of the land-grant system – and when he had an opportunity to take a faculty position at one of the two land-grant universities in Missouri, he jumped at the chance. Somavat joined the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) Division of Food Systems and Bioengineering (FSB) this year as an assistant professor of food science/biomedical, biological and chemical engineering. Somavat taught courses in food science and researched natural food…
Laura outside smiling.

Dec. 11, 2020

Q&A With Laura Friedrich

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? I am a student services coordinator — so I always say my job is to help students (and families) get from where they are today to graduation. Whether that’s advising students, helping them change their major, declaring a minor, withdrawing from classes, or reviewing and submitting graduation plans. I’m also the lucky person who gets to read names at graduation. A more fun part is officially awarding the degrees to graduates in the college based on their submitted grad plans. How long have you worked…
Flooding in NW Missouri during 2019

Dec. 7, 2020

After the Deluge

Historic flooding along the Missouri River in 2019 has left many still repairing damage this fall. Jim Crawford and his team repairing damage in fall 2020 from flooding that occurred in spring 2019. Cold, snowy weather in early 2019 set the stage for significant flooding in northwestern Missouri as spring approached, said University of Missouri Extension state climatologist Pat Guinan. “The flooding got off to an early start in mid-March when an unusually strong and moisture-laden late spring-like storm system dropped 1-4 inches of precipitation—mostly rainfall—over a two-day period across southeastern South Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, northwestern Iowa and much of…
Hannah Hemmelgarn speaks during a past organic field day event. Photo taken pre-COVID-19 pandemic.

Nov. 13, 2020

Q&A With Hannah Hemmelgarn

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? As the Center for Agroforestry’s outreach and education coordinator, I develop informational materials like the Agroforestry Podcast and monthly newsletters, and I organize and execute a number of events. The Agroforestry Academy, an annual week-long intensive train-the-trainer program, is one of our most recognized offerings. We’re also looking forward to the upcoming Agroforestry Symposium, which will take place January 28-30, 2021; this year’s theme is Community Health and Resilient Food Systems. How long have you worked in CAFNR? I’ve been in this position…
Paxton Dahmer was recently named the 2020-21 Central Region Vice President. He becomes the first national FFA officer from Missouri since 2007 and just the third since 2000. Photo courtesy of Paxton Dahmer.

Nov. 12, 2020

Representing Missouri on the National Level

As a seventh grader, Paxton Dahmer traveled with his family to the University of Missouri to watch his older brother, Payton, receive his state FFA degree during the Missouri state FFA convention. While taking in the entire ceremony, Paxton set a lofty goal for himself – he was going to be a Missouri state FFA officer. “I’m a sixth-generation farmer and a third-generation FFA member,” Dahmer said. “Agriculture has been a staple of my family for years. I remember listening to my grandfather tell stories about FFA and what he was able to accomplish through the organization. Being an FFA…