Our University Centers, Farms and Forests support activities of the Agricultural Experiment Station in many ways: they serve as field laboratories for plant science, animal science and natural resources research; they support demonstration projects and they are the locations of numerous field days, work shops, conferences and FFA days where our faculty, staff and students interact with our stakeholders. 

The Lewis and Clark Initiative provides more than $16 million to enhance the research and educational infrastructure of our Centers and Farms.

The Agricultural Experiment Station received an additional $5 million for a Plant Science Research Center designed to facilitate research and development of novel plant traits. This research center will be located in Mexico, Mo., and will be a cooperative effort with private sector partners. 

During the recent debate on the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative (funded by the sale of MOHELA assets), some individuals expressed disappointment that the intent of the funding had shifted from "life sciences" to "agriculture." I strongly disagree with that assessment. A quick perusal of the CAFNR Impacts page on our College Web site provides a powerful refutation of that suggestion. In fact, faculty in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources have been at the forefront of life sciences research on this campus from the green revolution, to Food for the 21st Century, to our contemporary work in animal and plant genomics, biological engineering and comparative medicine. 

The funding we receive from the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative will further strengthen our Centers and Farms as a statewide network of agricultural life sciences laboratories. Additionally, the education centers will transform our Centers into information hubs serving the needs of rural and agricultural communities.

The following AES Center and Farm projects have been funded by the Lewis and Clark Initiative:

• Delta Research Center, Portageville: A modern greenhouse complex to support the plant breeding program in southeast Missouri.
• Graves-Chapple Farm, Corning: A meeting and educational facility that will incorporate a variety of energy measures so that the building itself is a demonstration of energy efficiency.
• Greenley Memorial Center, Novelty: Conference center to accommodate up to 200 individuals and research labs for support of plant and animal research.
• Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin: Agroforestry research and education facilities to include a 250-person auditorium and four research labs.
• Hundley-Whaley Research Center, Albany: Completion of the Learning Discovery Center to support research and extension activities in northwest Missouri.
• McCredie Farm, Kingdom City: A swine research isolation facility to support activities such as confinement, gestation, farrowing, nursery and finishing of swine.
• South Farm, Columbia: Swine confinement and biomedical research buildings to support research and educational activities related to swine production and their use as models for human health
• Southwest Research Center, Mt. Vernon: A learning and telecommunications center to house a large auditorium and telecommunications facilities to support local education.
• Thompson Farm, Spickard: A new headquarters building with facilities designed to handle a variety of live animal educational and research needs.
• Wurdack Farm, Cook Station: An education and meeting facility to support outreach and demonstration activities for stakeholders in the region.

Regards,
Marc