CAFNR
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…
May 11, 2018
Covering Their Tracks
Whether a creature has feathers, fur or fins, it really doesn’t matter to Mike Byrne. He just wants to know where it’s going and what it might do when it gets there. Byrne is one of the newest faculty members in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri, arriving on campus in June 2017. The assistant professor of natural resources is an expert in the field of wildlife movement ecology. By learning more about why animals go where they go and do what they do, resource managers can improve conservation and species management efforts.
Oct. 25, 2017
60 Years of Advice
What exactly does an Advisory Council do? If we look at the dictionary definition: “offering suggestions about the best course of action to someone”; “recommend”, or, “inform (someone) about a fact or situation, typically in a formal or official way”. The School of Natural Resources Advisory Council has done all of that and more. As the Advisory Council nears celebrating its 60th anniversary, a history lesson is needed to appreciate where it came from and look ahead to where it’s going. A history lesson The Advisory Council* had its origin in 1951 as the forestry subcommittee of the College of…
May 18, 2017
Christopher R. Daubert Named CAFNR Vice Chancellor & Dean
Christopher R. Daubert, currently professor and department head of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences and system co-chair of Food, Biochemical & Engineered Systems at North Carolina State University, has been named vice chancellor and dean of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. He will join CAFNR effective Aug. 1. “The MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources has strong people, programs and partnerships serving our land-grant heritage, making CAFNR such an attractive destination and opportunity for leadership,” Daubert said. “The faculty and staff are exceptional and dedicated, and CAFNR’s students are incredibly capable and well prepared…
Jan. 19, 2017
Staying Fresh
Nutritionally, nothing is different when red meat, say ground beef for instance, darkens to brown, but try telling that to the average customer at a grocery store. “That’s the number one driver that consumers have,” said Carol Lorenzen about the bright redness quality of meat. A research team involving that included Lorenzen, professor of meat science in the Division of Animal Sciences, and her graduate student, Jade Cooper, have been investigating the impact of LED (light-emitting diode) lighting on beef color. The team published a research paper in the October 2016 issue of the Journal of Animal Science that…