CAFNR

There are a handful of requirements to become a Litton Leadership Scholar, including being a current CAFNR student, being a second-year student at MU at the time of entering the cohort and holding a 3.0 minimum GPA when entering the cohort. This is a picture of the 2019-20 Litton Leadership Scholar Cohort.

Sep. 16, 2020

Developing Student Leaders

Nearly a decade ago, and just one year into his teaching career at the University of Missouri, Jon Simonsen traveled with a handful of MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) faculty and administrators to Chillicothe, Mo. The purpose of the trip was to meet with board members of the Jerry Litton Family Memorial Foundation, which was created in 1976 after the tragic passing of Jerry, his wife and their two children. Over the years the Foundation has supported the development of future leaders in the agricultural industry and beyond. CAFNR was interested in partnering with the Foundation…

Sep. 11, 2020

Q&A With Alex Munoz

What are your job duties/job responsibilities in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources? I’m the student support specialist for the Division of Plant Sciences where I am the main point of contact for prospective students who are interested in our programs. I work to help with Division of Plant Sciences’ recruitment and outreach efforts as well as help with general recruitment for CAFNR. During normal times, I would be on the road visiting schools, college fairs and hosting visitors to campus. On top of this, I run the division’s social media accounts and help out faculty transitioning to…
In the show arena section of the Trowbridge Event Center (pictured), a total of 200 students can be in the classroom socially distanced – 145 in the wooden arena seats and 55 in desktop chairs on the concrete floor. The sales arena section will now hold 120 students. The show arena already has a massive projection screen, and the sales arena is complete with projectors and two digital display monitors. Photo by Michelle Enger.

Aug. 20, 2020

Focused on a Safe and Comfortable Return

As the University of Missouri prepares to open its doors for the 2020 fall semester, the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) has spent the past four months making sure the return for its faculty, staff and students will be done safely and according to the Show Me Renewal Plan. An academic operations team comprising one individual from each of CAFNR’s six divisions, and led by Bryan Garton, senior associate dean and director of academic programs, worked nonstop on making sure CAFNR could host as many in-person classes as possible. “This is an unprecedented time, not only…
Ronald Revord, an assistant research professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ (CAFNR) School of Natural Resources and faculty member for the Center for Agroforestry, recently received a grant for nearly $1 million to look to formalize a participatory network of chestnut growers to characterize on-farm germplasm and assemble core sets of superior selections.

Aug. 17, 2020

Meeting His Goals

When Ronald Revord joined the University of Missouri last year, he arrived with lofty goals in mind. Revord wasted no time in getting to work, either. Revord spent his first three months on the job working on and submitting a grant proposal to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) focused on establishing a participant network to characterize genetic variety and ancestry of chestnuts in the Midwest. While Revord’s main goal was to complete the grant proposal and submit something he was happy with, his proposal was strong enough to earn him a grant for nearly $1 million. The…

Aug. 14, 2020

Gardeners Make Community Impact

Those who have planted gardens feel that they have “done something for the good of the whole world,” wrote American author Charles Dudley Warner in 1871. For Greene County Master Gardeners Maryfrances DiGirolamo and James Hilburn, gardening has become a way to give back to their community, doing “something for the good of the world.” They use their University of Missouri Extension Master Gardener training to oversee a vegetable demonstrations garden at the Nathaniel Greene-Close Memorial Parks inside the Springfield Botanical Gardens. “They donate all the produce they grow to local food pantries,” said Kelly McGowan, coordinator of Master Gardeners…
Produce in containers

Aug. 10, 2020

Keeping Consumers Safe

Produce contamination accounts for an estimated 46% of foodborne illnesses across the United States each year — a serious issue affecting health, the economy and society as a whole. Even in the midst of the current pandemic, safety training for produce farmers is not only vital, but required for many, said MU Extension horticulture field specialist Patrick Byers. To combat contamination issues, the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule requires that many growers receive education and produce safety training, such as that offered by the Produce Safety Alliance through MU Extension. With COVID-19 restrictions on face-to-face training,…
Two bird species – black duck and wild turkey – are incredibly important to the regions where they are commonly found. Those species are also well studied; however, there is a period of time during the summer where research is lacking. Mitch Weegman, an assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, is looking to track both species’ whereabouts during that timeframe. Pictured here are turkey poults. Photo courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation.

Aug. 6, 2020

Tracking Two Bird Species

Two bird species – black duck and wild turkey – are incredibly important to the regions where they are commonly found. Those species are also well studied; however, there is a period of time during the summer where research is lacking. Mitch Weegman, an assistant professor in the School of Natural Resources, is looking to track both species’ whereabouts during that time frame. Weegman recently received $2.4 million in funding through two separate grants to conduct the research. “I could not be more thrilled to get started,” Weegman said. “These are projects you develop to meet great conservation priorities. To…
Woodland & Floral Garden, Parents Weekend, fall 1979

July 31, 2020

History in Bloom

Successful efforts by a handful of energetic horticulture students in the late 1970s led to the planning and execution of an ambitious garden project located next to MU’s Agriculture Building. The space was dedicated as the Woodland and Floral Gardens in April 1980. A public celebration to mark the garden’s 40th anniversary and rededicate what remains of the original landscape as the Missouri Woodland Garden was scheduled to be held April 2020, but has been postponed until further notice. Left to right: Kevin Karel and Bill Ruppert, the horticulture students who worked to design and build the Woodland & Floral…
The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced an investment of $6.2 million in animal reproduction research. Nearly $1.5 million of that investment is coming to the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ (CAFNR) Division of Animal Sciences. A total of 14 awards were handed out to 11 institutions, with CAFNR earning three of the awards.

July 27, 2020

An Investment in Animal Reproduction Research

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently announced an investment of $6.2 million in animal reproduction research. Nearly $1.5 million of that investment is coming to the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources’ (CAFNR) Division of Animal Sciences. A total of 14 awards were handed out to 11 institutions, with CAFNR earning three of the awards. “This is an incredible achievement and showcases how strong our Division of Animal Sciences continues to be,” said Shibu Jose, associate dean in the CAFNR Office of Research. “We’re proud of each…

July 7, 2020

CAFNR Faculty Earn 2020 President’s Awards

Each year, the UM System President’s Awards are presented on behalf of President Mun Choi to faculty members across the four universities of the UM System. These highly competitive awards recognize faculty who have made exceptional contributions in advancing the mission of the University. President’s Award recipients will be recognized at a Board of Curators meeting on their university campus, as well as at a faculty awards event hosted at their home institution. This year, the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources had three faculty members earn President’s Awards: Thomas Spencer, Chung-Ho Lin and Randall Miles. Thomas Spencer…