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Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension

The College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resoureces' (CAFNR) agriculture and natural resources extension program focuses on economic development, crop and livestock production and marketing systems, and increased income from forages, while balancing the consequences for Missouri's natural resources and environment.

CAFNR's agriculture and natural resources (ANR) extension programs are organized around five major interdisciplinary themes and include state and regional specialists as team members:

Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Programs & Centers

Agricultural Business Management
Environmental Quality
Integrated Crop Management/Horticulture
Livestock Production Systems
Natural Resources

Agricultural Business Management Programs

AgrAbility Project: Assistive technologies for farmers with disabilities.

Annie's Project: Training for women ages 19-84 in production management, financial management, marketing, legal issues and human resources.

Breimyer Seminar: Annual seminar for discussing developing areas of economics; named in memory of Harold Breimyer, an MU professor and USDA agricultural economist. One of his areas of concern was energy policy.

Business Management: Focusing on financial resources, record keeping, computer use, marketing and legal issues.

Community Food Systems: Broadens awareness of locally produced food benefits and the development of community food systems.

Excel Training: Basic and advanced training of the Excel spreadsheet software program.

Farm and Small Business Estate Planning: Estate planning concepts.

Golden Age Farming: Education on estate planning, retirement issues and transition planning.

Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Initiative: Creates healthy communities that support the availability of healthy, affordable, locally-produced food and safe, accessible physical activity through policy and environmental changes.

Introduction to QuickBooks: Covers setting up Quick Books, establishing a chart of accounts and class list, entering vendors, customers and items, preparing payroll and creating reports.

Legal Concerns for Rural Landowners: Covers Missouri's fence and boundary laws, land leases and contracts, government programs impacting landowners, liability questions, environmental regulations and issues, livestock ownership concerns and overall risk management strategies.

Profit-Focused Agriculture: Focuses on enhancing economic viability and sustainability of Missouri agriculture by providing research-based frontier educational programs.

Quicken for Farmers: Financial and ag production records training for people unfamiliar with accounting terms.

Rural Agriculture Safety and Health: Educates on safety techniques for agriculture and rural living.

Sustainable Agriculture: Teaches farming practices and procedures that are economically profitable, environmentally sound and socially responsible.

Value-Added Agriculture: An entrepreneurial-focused approach to evaluating the potential marketability of a value-added idea.

Your Farm, Your Resources, Your Business: Topics include financial resources, business planning, soils, matching livestock, proper equipment, horticulture production and legality.

Environmental Quality Programs

Individual Waste Water Systems: Provides research-based information on the functionality of on-site septic systems, use of alternative systems, and the important role of soil in site selection.

Water Awareness Festival: Informational festival stressing the importance of water sanitation and community economical viability.

Watershed Management and Planning: Evaluation, planning and implementation of locally designed watershed management programs.

Manure Management: Assists with the planning of manure and organic by-products management, addresses natural resource concerns, soil erosion, and potential impacts on water quality.

Integrated Crop Management/Horticulture Programs

Commercial Pesticide Applicator Training: Initial training and recertification of commercial pesticide applicators. Topics include pesticide safety, handling, updates, health risks and worker protection standards.

Forage Production and Management: Teaches techniquest to improve forage production and economic return while protecting the environment including management intensive grazing, pasture-based dairying, seasonal feeding systems and fescue toxosis.

Garden and Grow: Youth volunteer gardening program teaching vegetable gardening, science, math, team building and language skills.

Home Horticulture and Environment: Provides research-based horticulture information that recaps the benefits of maintaining healthy turf, ornamental, or fruit and vegetable plantings.

Management of Genetically Improved Crops (MaGIC): Focuses on farming techniques using biotechnology which will help modify and improve management, cost, and economic viability of farmland.

Master Gardener: Provides in-depth horticulture training and prepares volunteers for horticulture questions frequently-asked by citizens around the state.

Missouri Crop Management System: Focuses on techniques that minimize environmental impact and offers research on selecting the best crop genetics, as well as proper crop management decisions.

Missouri Grown: Focuses on marketing high horticulture value crops best suited to Missouri's climate conditions.

Nutrient Management Planning: Provides manure and organic by-products management skills, and addresses natural resource concerns including soil erosion and by-product impact on water quality.

Plant Protection for the 21st Century:Covers the fundamental concepts of pest control including weeds, disease and inset damage.

Precision Agriculture: Technological approach to farming, emphasizing benefits of geo-referenced data as a means to optimize production management.

Private Pesticide Applicator Training: Trains in methods of safe and proper use of agricultural pesticides on farmland.

Turfgrass Management and the Green Industry: Helps identify and resolve cultural and pest problems in using cost effective and environmentally sound methods.

Livestock Production Systems Programs

Beef Production Systems: Topics span disease prevention, sanitation, vaccinations, site evaluations, appropriate feed rations, nutrition and reproductive physiology.

Dairy Production Systems: Provides information about dairy management, facilities, herd management, expansion, labor, improved dairy cattle genetics and health, waste management, reproductive heath, and techniques in management of dairy records.

Equine: Aimed at issues such as feeding, health management, training, breeding and other management issues.

MO-PORK: Offers strategies to improve nutrient use, reproductive efficiency and management of swine.

Missouri Show-Me Quality Assurance: Covers livestock daily care, management, withdrawal times and bio-securit. Leads to PQA certification.

Pasture-Based Dairy Systems: Promotes concepts in economically viable and sustainable forage-based dairy production. Participants acquire skills in financial management, high-quality pasture foraging and animal husbandry.

Premier Beef: Educates in concepts of value-based feeder calf marketing. Focuses on herd health, growth, uniformity and marketing skills necessary to capture the full value of feeder cattle.

Sheep and Goat Production: Strives to improve the competitiveness and diversity of Missouri production enterprises. Topics range from management, genetic improvement, nutrients and health assessment to marketing strategies.

Show-Me-Select: Examines breeding/mating, herd health management, methods of reproduction and production economics.

Natural Resources Programs

Agroforestry for Farm Improvement: Encourages farmers to produce value-added products from forest resources through manipulation of existing forest and configured planting. Focuses include alley cropping, silvopasture, forest farming, windbreaks and riparian buffers.

Energy Conservation, Efficiency and Alternatives: Promotes responsible management of energy through conservation, efficiency and renewable fuels.

Missouri Master Naturalist: Improves the understanding of natural resource ecology and management and provides the framework for conducting volunteer educational programs towards management of natural resources.

Missouri Master Wildlife: Training in managing wildlife resources and enhancing habitat for a variety of wildlife species. Examines alternative management approaches for wildlife in diverse habitats.

Missouri Woodland Steward: Helps private land owners identify woodland habitats and introduces basic forest and wildlife management concepts and practices.