Research

An Asian man with short, dark hair and glasses wears a grey sweater with 3/4 button closures inside of a building wiht large windows and a staircase behind him. He stands with his hands clasped in front of him.

July 6, 2023

When science becomes humanitarian

Ukraine has long been one of the world’s top producers of grains like wheat, corn and barley, and produces half of the world’s sunflower oil, but Russia’s invasion and the war following have left the country’s agriculture industry with a litany of problems to overcome to continue serving as the world’s breadbasket. Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food has mapped out eight areas in need of immediate assistance, and among them is pollution of farmland throughout the country.

July 6, 2023

Sweet Science

The world is getting a little sweeter for people who prefer non-dairy ice cream options thanks to one Mizzou researcher who has developed a better tasting, smoother soy ice cream.
four women and one man all in white lab coats stand in a posed group amid shelves and counters of lab equipment

June 16, 2023

A Race Against Time

Phelipanche aegyptiaca, a parasitic plant commonly known as Egyptian broomrape, has been wreaking havoc on farmers’ crops in Africa and Mediterranean Europe since the ‘90s, and, in 2014, it found its way to the United States when it was discovered in a crop of tomato plants in northern California. The plant is difficult to detect and eradicate once it takes hold, but one University of Missouri researcher hopes to change that before the plant has the opportunity to spread to the Midwest.
A white woman with long, curly, blonde hair wears a pink blouse and smiles at the camera with a dark, rock wall in the background

June 12, 2023

An Unpredictable Path

Growing up, Atmospheric Sciences graduate student Sarah Weaver experienced three tornados. Now, through her PhD program at Mizzou, she is contributing to national hurricane forecasts, helping keep others safe from devastating severe weather and finding her career path.
A white man with dark hair and sungalsses wearing a bright yellow t-shirt sits next to a white woman with long, blonde hair and glasses wearing a grey polo shirt. The two examine pieces of grass laid out on a wooden table in front of them. The woman is holding one piece of grass

May 31, 2023

A Natural Fit

MU Extension Field Specialist Valerie Tate sat at her desk near Linneus as her co-worker popped in. “Oh, hey, do you mind if I put these insect traps up around the farm as part of the statewide MU IPM pest monitoring network?” Tate asked. When she asked this question, Tate was already on “the farm.” Tate works out of the Linn County Extension Office, which moved into the administrative building at Cornett Farm — part of Mizzou’s Northern Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center (NM-REEC) — in March. The REEC is part of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural…
A close-up of green pecans growing on a tree branch surrounded by green foliage.

May 26, 2023

MU Center for Agroforestry Hosts Education Events for Producers this Summer

This summer, the MU Center for Agroforestry will host three events aimed at helping those producing or interested in producing elderberry, nut trees and practicing agroforestry. Each event is designed to provide classroom and hands-on learning that will benefit both new and experienced growers. Comprehensive Elderberry Workshop and Orchard Tour Set for June 15-16 in Columbia, this workshop explores one of Missouri’s fastest-growing specialty crops — elderberry. The event is co-sponsored by River Hills Harvest. Participants will have the opportunity to hear about more than 20 topics from experienced growers; learn about orchard culture, marketing and processing; shop and sample…
A red tractor sits in a harvested corn field

April 12, 2023

Missouri Farm Income Projected to Decline in 2023

Missouri’s net farm income is predicted to fall in 2023 following a record-setting 2022, according to the spring 2023 Missouri Farm Income Outlook report. The report, released by the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center (RaFF) at the University of Missouri, provides comprehensive insights that can equip industry stakeholders and policymakers with information to understand the state-level impacts of economic factors, weather and policy initiatives on the agriculture industry. One factor that could explain this projected drop in farm income is the state’s livestock receipts, which were impacted by the country-wide drought that reduced cattle inventories and supported Missouri marketings, which…
Images of sperm captured through image-based flow cytometry show irregularities that can affect fertility. From left to right, the images show a knobbed acrosome, nuclear vacuoles and mitochondrial aplasia and piriform head.

April 4, 2023

Putting the AI in AI

Peter Sutovsky, professor of animal sciences, and one of his postdoctoral researchers, Lauren Hamilton, were recently awarded a $1.3 million grant by USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support their work in creating artificial intelligence they hope will not only help farmers and the agriculture industry, but couples battling infertility, too. “We want to translate this into any area of science where it can be beneficial,” Sutovsky said. “That could be livestock, humans or even endangered species.” The project itself involves examining tens of thousands of images of sperm samples from 85 genome-sequenced bulls for morphological irregularities and…

March 22, 2023

Blooms Like it Hot. But, Also, Cold?

Rebecca North, assistant professor of water quality in CAFNR’s School of Natural Resources, learned and lived by a paradigm commonly accepted among limnologists around the world — “blooms like it hot” – meaning that water temperatures must be warm for algae blooms to develop. But, a recently published study co-authored by North could dismantle this long-held belief. “You only take on big ideas – when you seek to take down paradigms – when you have collaborators from all over the world,” North said of the study team that consisted of researchers from multiple countries including the U.S., Canada and Germany.
two blond, pre-school-aged girls sit beside a pond with fishing poles. They are wearing denim dresses and pink muck boots.

March 20, 2023

MU Announces New Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands and Aquatic Systems

Through a partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation (MCHF), the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources made a joint announcement featuring the launch of its new Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands and Aquatic Systems today. “Clean water and healthy aquatic systems are vital for our global future,” said Mun Choi, University of Missouri president. “This Institute will be a crucial resource for citizens, government entities and private industries committed to this mission in the years to come, and MU is proud to be a driving force in that mission…