Nearly 30 years after it was established in 1888, researchers at the University of Missouri began the process of taking and studying soil cores at Sanborn Field. About every 25 years, those cores are taken again to gain an understanding of the changes in the soil over time, given the variety of treatments and rotations that occur each year. It’s…
Sanborn Field ⋅ Page 1
A Historic Celebration
Sanborn Field 130th anniversary celebration highlights research
The University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) celebrated the 130th anniversary of Sanborn Field on Tuesday, July 24, on the MU campus. There were discussions and presentations, as well as displays of historical equipment and photos, in Eckles Hall. There were tours of Sanborn Field, too. Sanborn Field is the oldest, continuous experimental field west…
From the Soil, Medicine
Sanborn Field helped develop an antibiotic from the ground up
For a century and a quarter, Sanborn has yielded scientific information about the health and best use of Missouri soils, soil erosion, fertilizer run-off, crop rotation, and best methods to recover exhausted soils.
In the Trenches
Students explore Missouri to unpack complex agricultural and environmental issues
Be prepared to get your boots muddy. That just might be the most important piece of advice aspiring journalists receive and it’s a literal and metaphorical creed that Bill Allen, assistant professor of science journalism in the College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources’ (CAFNR) Science and Agricultural Journalism Program, tells each student who boards the bus for a three-day,…
Agricultural Time Capsule
Predicting the effects of biofuel production by mining 120 years of agriculture research
Randall Miles, associate professor of soil science at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, is part of an international consortium of scientists assessing and predicting these effects before biomass planting and harvesting is initiated. Unfortunately, they don’t have decades to set up experiments and gather data.