Past UMCA Hosted Events

Elderberry Winemaking Workshop

October 26, 2012, Columbia, MO

The workshop was led by dr. John Brewer, the president of Wyldewood Cellars, the largest elderberry winery in the US located in Wichita, KS.

He presented information about wine making in general and about using elderberry for winemaking, wine equipment and wine chemistry. Lunch and elderberry tasting wine was provided.

Forrest Keeling's Great River Road Chestnut Roast

October 20, 2012, Elsberry, MO

Forrest Keeling Nursery saw over 1,000 guests who came for crafts, demonstrations and freshly roasted chestnuts at its Third Annual Great River Chestnut Roast held on October 20th.

Among the attractions were tours of the nursery, free samples of Urban Chestnut Brewing Company's "Winged Nut" chestnut craft beer, and a chestnut recipe demonstration (complete with samples) by Jina Yoo of Jina Yoo's Asian Bistro in Columbia, Mo.

Great event for the whole family!

Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC) Field Day

June 30, 2012, New Franklin, MO

The Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC) held its annual field day on June 30 to showcase ongoing research including chestnut and walnut production, biomass, pest management and alley cropping. Attendees had the opportunity to visit several locations around the farm, where speakers gave presentations on a wide variety of horticulture and agroforestry topics.

2012 Comprehensive Elderberry Workshop and Farm Tour

June 7 and 8, 2012, Hartsburg, MO

More than 150 individuals from Missouri and seven other states gathered in June for a workshop organized by Terry Durham and sponsored by the University of Missouri's Center for Agroforestry through an ongoing grant from NCR-SARE.

3rd Annual Agroforestry Symposium

January 11, 2012, University of Missouri, Memorial Union

The 3rd Annual Agroforestry Symposium featured multiple presentations, a panel discussion on the "Biomass Feedstock Supply Chain," and a poster session in the afternoon. The event was a chance for a variety of agroforestry experts to share research from the past year and develop ideas to move ahead in the field.

The 13th UMCA Annual Review

January 12, 2012, University of Missouri, Memorial Union

The 13th UMCA Annual Review provided an opportunity for UMCA faculty and staff to present their research from the past year in the form of posters and power point presentations. An open discussion was held at the end of the day to answer questions among attendees.

Chestnut Roasts 2011
Please join us in Elsberry, MO for the Great River Road Chestnut Roast at Forrest Keeling Nursery, October 8th, from 10am-4pm. For an audio description of the event, click here
We will not be having the Missouri Chestnut Roast at HARC this year.

2nd Annual Agroforestry Symposium
January 12, 2011
Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building at the University of Missouri
To view video from the symposium, click here.

	Keynote speaker, Steve Flick, Show Me Energy Cooperative
	UMCA researcher Andy Thomas (center) was among forty personnel who displayed research posters

8th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
October 16, 2010
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center
New Franklin, Mo.
For information about the 2010 event please click here.

Chestnut Roast Photo Gallery

Inaugural Agroforestry Research Symposium
January 6, 2010
Stotler Lounge in the University of Missouri
Memorial Union, Columbia
To view video from the symposium, click here.

7th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
October 17, 2009
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center
New Franklin, Mo.
For information about the 2009 event please click here.

11th North American Agroforestry Conference
May 31 - June 3, 2009
Columbia, Mo.

The conference was hosted by the UMCA and the Association for Temperate Agroforestry. Please click here for more information about the conference.

Please click here for the conference proceedings.

Agroforestry Conference Photo Gallery

6th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
Oct. 18, 2008
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center,
New Franklin, Mo.
For information about the 2008 event please click here.

5th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
Oct. 13, 2007
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center,
New Franklin, Mo.
For information about the 2007 event please click here.

Missouri Exchange Workshop
July 19, 2007 -Columbia, Mo.

A recent workshop sponsored by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry promoted the new Missouri Exchange online marketplace web site and brought buyers and sellers together face-to-face. The workshop featured information on selling fresh and niche agricultural products, a web site tutorial, local food and agricultural product samples, and networking among attendees and speakers.

The Missouri Exchange workshop included knowledgeable speakers who discussed opportunities for marketing niche and fresh agricultural products to restaurants, marketing of alternative products, native plants and the GrowNative! program, and the rise of the growing local food movement in the United States.

	Participants exhibited their products, which included gourmet mustards, baked goods, pickled walnuts, honey ice cream, fresh produce and herbs, native plants and fresh pecans and pecan candies.
	The luncheon of fried chicken, stuffed peppers, vegetables, shiitake mushrooms, fresh rolls and cheesecake promoted local foods - all ingredients were brought in from area farms before preparation by University of Missouri chefs.

Silvopasture Forum
March 20, 2007 - MU Wurdack Farm, Cook Station, Mo.

Hosted by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, this forum offered information for natural resources professionals and landowners interested in the silvopasture practice. The history and background of silvopasture was presented, along with an overview of management intensive grazing systems and information about selecting appropriate forages. Missouri EQIP and silvopasture practice standards were also addressed. During the afternoon, a tour of silvopasture research at the Wurdack Farm was given to the participants.

Dusty Walter, UMCA Technical Training Specialist, and the forum attendees view the silvopasture practice demonstration area.

Focus Group Meetings for Potential Chestnut Producers

January 30, 2007 - Pleasant Hill, Mo.
February 7, 2007 - Mt. Vernon, Mo.

As an effort to expand the chestnut industry, the Center for Agroforestry hosted focus group meetings in January and February in Pleasant Hill and Mt. Vernon, Mo. The attendees were identified before the meeting as potential chestnut producers. The meetings were held to gauge interest in producing chestnuts and to provide growing and marketing information to the participants in an effort to establish a base of chestnut growers in Missouri. The Center has conducted research with chestnuts for the past 10 years, and is now in a position to offer cultivar and marketing information to potential growers.

Mike Gold, UMCA Associate Director, interacts with the Focus Group participants

2006 Chestnut Roasting and Sales Events

Oct. 13, 4th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast, New Franklin
Nov. 2 - 4, Small Farms Trade Show, Columbia
Nov. 11, Columbia Farmers Market, Columbia
Nov. 29 - Dec. 3, MU Forestry Club Christmas Tree Sales Lot, Columbia
Dec. 8 Living Windows Festival, Columbia
Nov. 1 - Dec. 23 Chestnuts were sold from the MU Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Bldg, Columbia

UMCA staff sold bags of fresh HARC chestnuts at the Columbia Farmers Market

4th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
Oct. 14, 2006
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center,
New Franklin, Mo.
For information about the 2006 event please click here.

Windbreaks and Other Practices to Manage Livestock Odors
July 25, 2006 - Paris, Mo.

Sponsored by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, with funding from SARE (a program of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service). Not only are windbreaks attractive and relatively low-maintenance, they provide odor mitigation benefits that are critical to livestock operations' owners. The importance of windbreaks, and their design and management, was the topic of an agroforestry workshop hosted by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) on July 25, in Paris, Mo.

Funded by a grant received by the Center for Agroforestry through the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education professional development program, the workshop brought more than 40 natural resource professionals and landowners together to learn about windbreaks and evaluate a "real world" case study.

Specialty Mushroom Production and Marketing Workshop
Feb. 17 - 18, 2006 — Columbia, Mo.

More than 40 participants from across the Midwest attended the workshop designed to teach the basics of production and/or marketing techniques for specialty gourmet mushrooms, including shiitake, oyster and Stropharia. University of Missouri research faculty members, professional mushroom growers and marketers provided participants the knowledge and skills needed to get started growing and marketing mushrooms.

A hands-on tour of the mushroom cultivation sites at the MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin, Mo., featured demonstrations of UMCA current research and explored the steps involved in growing mushrooms in a forest farming setting. Read more in Green Horizons.

MU Plant Pathologist Jeanne Mihail instructs a participant on the correct technique for drilling an oak log.

Agroforestry Training Workshop
Jan. 10-11, 2006 — Columbia, Mo.

In the fall of 2005, the Center was awarded a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program grant to fund a series of agroforestry trainings geared toward a targeted audience: individuals from state and government federal agencies, University Extension personnel, and non-profit and professional organizations dealing with issues that directly impact landowners and their management of forests and farms. More than 50 professionals representing several disciplines in the natural resource-based fields attended the January training. The training was designed to increase core agencies' knowledge about agroforestry practices and the benefits they offer when applied as sustainable farming practices, and to foster the establishment of social networks for assisting resource professionals and landowners in finding answers regarding the establishment and management of agroforestry.

The event utilized a new and updated Agroforestry Training Manual designed to facilitate all phases of implementing the five agroforestry practices (available for download or order on the Publications page. A tour of the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center at New Franklin, Mo., featured demonstrations of diverse agroforestry practices. Natural resource professionals broke into smaller multi-agency work groups to evaluate implementing agroforestry practices into a real-world agroforestry case study, Idolour Farm in Boone County, Mo. Read more in Green Horizons.

Mike Gold, UMCA associate director, teaches training workshop participants how to earn profit from trees in creative ways using agroforestry practices.

3rd Annual Chestnut Roast
October 29, 2005
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center,
New Franklin, Mo.
For information about the 2005 event please click here.

Riparian Buffer Workshop
October 27, 2005 — Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin, Mo.

The maintenance of existing forests and the establishment of new trees in areas adjacent to streams (and prone to flooding) can be challenging. The University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA), and its collaborative researchers, addressed this challenge at a field day in October, focusing on current riparian buffer research and its application on the land. Titled "Managing Riparian Forests and Riparian Buffers," the field day was hosted at the University of Missouri Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center at New Franklin, Mo. Topics included design and maintenance of riparian forests and buffers; planting configurations to reduce erosion; species selection; wildlife management; value added opportunities and cost-share/incentive programs. The Center for Agroforestry extends special thanks to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and the University of Missouri for the expertise their personnel contributed to the program. Read more in Green Horizons.

The riparian forest buffers workshop brought participants to the HARC farm to learn how to effectively manage this agroforestry practice for maximum benefit - including water quality, wildlife habitat and value added product production.

Shiitake Mushroom Production: From Tree to Table
April 16, 2005 — Ozark Forest Mushrooms, Bunker, Mo.

This hands-on workshop featured demonstrations of shiitake mushroom production and profitable forest management through agroforestry practices. The event was sponsored by Ozark Forest Mushrooms, UMCA and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE).

Participants learned step-by-step about the shiitake mushroom process, from the management of the forest for mushroom log production to packaging and marketing fresh and dried shiitakes for retail sale. Also featured was a wood furnace that fuels a greenhouse for winter production, partially funded by a SARE grant to utilize "spent" logs as a heat source. Proprietors and staff of the successful Ozark Forest Mushrooms business led participants through demonstrations and field tours, as well as faculty and staff from the Center for Agroforestry and forestry/natural resources professionals.

Nicola Macpherson, left, proprietor of Ozark Forest Mushrooms, leads a discussion about sustainable, year-round shiitake production in her greenhouse. The greenhouse is heated by burning the farm's spent mushroom logs.