CAFNR
June 27, 2019
Throwing New Light on Photosynthesis
In the summer months, Jeff Wood, a biometeorologist in the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, likes to spend his days with his head in the clouds, or at least the canopies of forests. Sometimes starting before dawn and staying until dusk, he uses a 32-meter tall instrument-studded tower at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux site (MOFLUX) at the Baskett Wildlife Research and Education Center near Ashland, Missouri, to monitor the “breathing” of the forest. Using tools to measure the flow of carbon dioxide and water from the level of the individual leaf to the entire forest, he…
June 21, 2019
A Lifetime of International Work
Kerry Clark, assistant research professor in the Division of Applied Social Sciences (DASS) and project manager for smallholder productivity for the USAID Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), has been named director of CAFNR International Programs, effective Aug. 1, 2019. Clark has worked internationally throughout her career. Through the USAID Soybean Innovation Lab, she works with a multidisciplinary team to bridge seed quality and sociological research for development in Ghana and Mozambique. She worked for 15 years with Costa Rica Seeds advancing University of Missouri soybean lines in a winter nursery in Upala, Costa Rica. Since 2016, Clark has been developing and…
June 12, 2019
A Life of Service and Innovation
Robert J. Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has an inspiring list of professional accomplishments over his years in higher education, first as a researcher and teacher, and now as a leader. Robert J. Jones is pictured with family in December 2018 when he returned to Mizzou to receive an honorary degree. From left to right: Clifford Browner, brother-in-law; Glenndale Williams, son-in-law; Taara Hassan Williams, daughter; Lynn Hassan Jones, wife; Jones; and Mary Alice Browner, sister. Still, he says the achievement of receiving an honorary degree from the University of Missouri last December was near the top…
May 10, 2019
A Combination of Research
Last year, Amanda Patterson was looking for a place where she could combine her reproductive research interests in animals and her stem cell research interests in women. She found the perfect opportunity at the University of Missouri. Patterson joined the Division of Animal Sciences in November 2018 as an assistant professor. She also has a joint appointment in Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health with the MU School of Medicine. Patterson’s research is focused on understanding how the uterus is repaired after pregnancy, in both animals and women. “During pregnancy, there is a dramatic remodeling, growth and change that happens within…
May 2, 2019
From Farm Kid to Executive
It was 1979 when Missouri farm kid Brett Begemann anxiously started his freshman year at Mizzou. Growing up on his family’s farm near Mayview, Missouri, Begemann came to MU with the intention of returning to the farm. He described himself as “just a farm kid back then” and remembers thinking how big the city of Columbia was, which led him to wonder how he would ever make it in such a big city. Little did he know that he would see much bigger cities in his future. Due to a drought, Begemann didn’t return the family farm after graduating from…
April 16, 2019
Continuing to Learn
Spread throughout Blake Hurst’s home near Tarkio, Missouri, are newspapers, magazines and books. To read, and read, and then read some more was part of the advice Hurst gave students while on campus from April 3-4 as CAFNR’s Robert O. Reich Executive-in-Residence. The program brings industry leaders to the college to share knowledge and experience with students, faculty and staff. During his visit, Blake, the president of Missouri Farm Bureau, spoke to students in CAFNR, providing insight gained throughout his career. “It’s such a cliché, but it’s true, all you can do here [at MU] is to hopefully get kind…
April 3, 2019
CAFNR Programs of Distinction
The University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) has numerous existing research, teaching and extension programs that are nationally and internationally recognized. To highlight the recognized strength of existing and future programs, CAFNR has established criteria for Programs of Distinction, a select collection of programs that exemplify CAFNR’s drive to distinction. CAFNR’s Programs of Distinction, together with our academic programs, define our current impact on Missouri’s agriculture and natural resource economies, providing understanding for how CAFNR is addressing challenges facing Missouri agriculture and natural resources. In line with CAFNR’s new strategic plan, the College has…
March 8, 2019
Coming Home
Four values – respect, responsibility, discovery and excellence – can often be read hanging from banners attached to the iconic Mizzou columns. For Mizzou students, alumni, faculty and staff, the four words can evoke a certain pride. For College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources alumnus Kellie Bray, the values remind her of her time on MU’s campus. Bray served as a member of the committee that helped create Mizzou’s value statement as a student in the late 1990s. “Now to see those flags between the columns, I feel a lot of pride when I see them,” Kellie said. “I think…
March 5, 2019
Study Finds Vast Opportunities for Food, Beverage & Forest Product Manufacturing in Missouri
Food, beverage and forest product manufacturing in the state of Missouri could soon be a more than $70 billion industry. A new study found significant potential for transforming Missouri agriculture commodities, in state, into value-added products. This study was the first step in the Show-Me-State Food, Beverage and Forest Products Manufacturing Initiative, a project of the Missouri Agricultural Foundation. TEConomy Partners, a firm specializing in research, analysis and strategy for innovation-based economic development, conducted the study. TEConomy Partners, a firm specializing in research, analysis and strategy for innovation-based economic development, conducted the study. TEConomy proposed three initiatives to grow Missouri…
Feb. 8, 2019
Feasting on Famine: Fighting ‘Hidden Hunger’ and Food Waste
Like many people, Kiruba Krishnaswamy loves to eat. She even calls herself a foodie, and she loves to explore the cuisines of different cultures. Despite her lifelong love of food, Krishnaswamy, an assistant professor of biological engineering, had never heard of food engineering before she went to college, but she was intrigued by it. Krishnaswamy intends to spend the next five to 10 years at MU building out a zero hunger inter-disciplinary research team to grapple with global challenges. Thus, her research group, named FEAST (Food Engineering and Sustainable Technologies), will consist of both food scientists and engineers from CAFNR…