Stories
May 6, 2020
Making the Cut
In 2015, Jared Decker, an associate professor in the Division of Animal Sciences and state beef Extension specialist, received a $3 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture focused on matching cattle to their best environments so producers can make educated decisions about which animals are going to be most productive for them. Harly Durbin and Troy Rowan (research highlighted here) came to the University of Missouri as graduate research assistants in 2016 to work with Decker on the grant. Durbin’s part of the project has been focused on data collection and organization related to hair shedding. Hair…
May 6, 2020
Clay Haynes Named Honorary Member of the CAFNR Alumni Association
Clay Haynes, Engineering Manager for Black & Veatch, has been named a 2020 honorary member of the CAFNR Alumni Association. Haynes is the husband of Dana Brown Haynes, retired CAFNR Director of Alumni Relations. Over the years, Haynes helped with many of the CAFNR Alumni Association’s events and activities, including the CAFNR Week Bonfire, Tiger Classic Golf Tournament and Steak Fry, Alumni Gathering at the Missouri State Fair, out-state alumni events, and the CAFNR Unlimited Banquet and Auctions, where he helped with auction item transport and assembly (including numerous pedal tractors and a windmill!), in addition to clean up and…
May 6, 2020
David Janish Named Honorary Member of the CAFNR Alumni Association
David Janish, CEO of FCS Financial, has been named a 2020 Honorary Member of the CAFNR Alumni Association. Since taking this position in 2013, Janish has immersed himself in the agriculture, civic and Mizzou communities. He is a member of the CAFNR Foundation board and has served on the investments and marketing committees. He is part of the CAFNR Vice Chancellor and Dean’s leadership cabinet and the Food, Beverage and Forest Products Manufacturing Initiative, a Grand Idea in the college’s strategic plan. Janish informs the college what skills and experiences his industry is seeking as CAFNR evaluates how to adapt…
May 5, 2020
Livestock Legacy
As a student in the then-College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, Everett Forkner was able to attend an international competition in Chicago as part of the Mizzou livestock judging team. There he saw the Saddle & Sirloin portrait gallery for the first time. Forkner is pictured here with his family. Photo courtesy Everett Forkner. “I was really impressed,” Forkner said of seeing the great line of portraits. “Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever thought that my portrait could be hung with that group of people.” In November, Forkner…
May 5, 2020
An Academic Honor
Propelled by two of MU’s values, discovery and excellence, four CAFNR students have received the 2020 University of Missouri Award for Academic Distinction. Undergraduate students who excel at contributing to MU’s academic atmosphere are recognized with the award. CAFNR seniors Cole Diggins, Kody Jones, Paxton Kostos and Stephanie Scott were among the 15 students selected for the campus-wide honor. Criteria for the award includes evidence of extraordinary intellectual curiosity, actively seeking knowledge beyond the classroom and striving to share that knowledge with others for a broader impact. Cole Diggins – Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences As a member…
May 5, 2020
Kate Geppert Receives True Tiger Volunteer Award From CAFNR Alumni Association
Kate Geppert, a 1989 graduate of CAFNR with a BS in Ag Journalism, has received the 2020 True Tiger Volunteer Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association. Geppert has served as President of the Association’s Board of Directors, and has chaired and co-chaired the CAFNR Unlimited banquet and fundraising auctions. For 15 years, she has helped develop, design and write the Unlimited sale catalog. She also has been involved in the dairy program at Mizzou, serving as a dairy judging coach and volunteer with the Dairy Hall of Honors. Geppert is a past President of the National Holstein Women’s Scholarship Board…
May 5, 2020
Laura Hertel Honored with Haynes Distinguished Service Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association
Laura Hertel, Senior Coordinator of Student Services, School of Natural Resources, has been honored with the 2020 Dana Brown Haynes Distinguished Service Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association. Hertel, who earned her bachelor’s in Communications and Elementary Education from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, has been part of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Missouri since 1992, currently serving as Senior Coordinator of Student Services. She also instructs a course on College Success in SNR. She established the Natural Resources Alumni Organization, coordinates the annual Trivia in the Wild Scholarship Fundraiser and established the annual new student breakfast.
May 4, 2020
Contributing to Research
For more than 20 years, the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri, has served as one of the world’s leading centers contributing to the science underlying agroforestry, which is the science and practice of intensive land-use management combining trees and shrubs with crops or livestock. Agroforestry practices help landowners to diversify products, markets and farm income; improve soil and water quality; sequester carbon; reduce erosion, non-point source pollution and damage due to flooding; and mitigate climate change. The Center for Agroforestry’s Chung-Ho Lin, an associate research professor, and his lab are currently looking at how to redirect…
May 4, 2020
Gathering Preliminary Data
The U.S. Agricultural Market Outlook is prepared annually by economists with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) and MU Agricultural Markets and Policy (AMAP) and is updated each August. FAPRI Director Pat Westhoff said the report gives policymakers, farmers, agribusinesses and the public an overview of the state of the U.S. farm economy. The market projections it contains can be useful to farmers making production choices, to policymakers trying to decide how to respond to agriculture issues, to lenders who must decide whether to make loans and to agribusinesses making investment decisions. FAPRI released its most recent U.S.
May 4, 2020
Loyd Wilson Honored With Past President Award by CAFNR Alumni Association
Loyd Wilson, who received a bachelor’s in animal sciences from CAFNR in 1986, has been honored with the 2020 Past President Award from the CAFNR Alumni Association. Wilson, who also received an MPA in Public Administration from Mizzou in 2005, served as president of the Association over the past year. He is director of administration for the Missouri Public Service Commission and has served as deputy director for the Missouri Department of Agriculture. “Loyd is a highly involved member of the Board of Directors currently serving as Immediate Past President as his 7th year on the Board. Loyd is extremely knowledgeable and…