MU Central Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center

05/30/2026

We got the plastic mulch laid for the Tomato Festival tomatoes, tomatillos and peppers for this years Tomato Festival on August 27th at MU Jefferson Farm and Garden. We will plant 240 varieties of tomatoes, 10 varieties of tomatilloes including ground cherry and 88 varieties of peppers including some of the world's hottest.

05/30/2026

Have you ever wondered what good are wasps? Then check out this Tim's Take podcast and learn that they are extremely important in the ecosystem.

Think all wasps are aggressive pests? Think again.In this fascina...

05/22/2026

Looking to reduce hay costs and instead graze livestock in the late fall and winter, then consider trazing Grain Sorghum (Milo).

Can grazing replace traditional hay feeding? In this on-farm discus...

05/22/2026

A new hot topic in agriculture is Virtual Fencing. Today Dr. Derek Brake and his graduate student Emma Bauer talk about their project and experience at MU's Beef Teaching and Research Farm at the Central Mo REEC.

In this video, we visit the University of Missouri Beef Research an...

05/08/2026

Monarch caterpillars at South Farm!

05/05/2026

Hands-on experience is critical for CAFNR students Yesterday Nash Rodebush a senior interested in Sustainable Agriculture received instructions on calibrating a setting a planter to plant soybeans into cover crops. He then received instructions on planting from graduate student William Lee. Afterwards he got to plant and did a great job.

05/01/2026

All 234 varieties of tomatoes have been transplanted to 6 packs for the Tomato Festival on August 27th at MU Jefferson Farm and Gardenand now just waiting to plant later on this month.

04/29/2026

At the Central MO REEC Beef Research and Teaching farm, faculty and graduate students are examining the feasibility of using virtual fencing where cattle are equipped with collars that keep them from crossing a predetermined line. Here cattle are strip grazing a cereal rye cover crop with no fences except for perimeter fencing. Virtual fences can be moved within minutes using an App on the smartphone. Dr Derek Brake and graduate student Emma Bauer indicated that this system has worked much better than expected.

02/25/2026

Many of you may recognize Paige from her internship last summer with a local television station. Paige and other students get valuable hands-on experience working with Eric Aldrich in his class with a daily forecast that they write and produce.

Paige Halter shares her journey as a broadcast journalism major and atmospheric science minor, her passion for weather forecasting, and how hands-on experien...

02/03/2026

Hey Folks, here are the results of the 2025 Tomato Festival Taste Test. The tomatoes were given by participants a score from 1-5 with 1 being excellent, 2 is good, 3 is average, 2 is fair and 1 is poor. The tomato varieties are divided between hybrid, heirloom, cherry and dwarf. We also have tomatillos and ground cherries. Just click on the link below.