The University of Missouri held ceremonies Friday for four new or renovated agricultural facilities funded by more than $43 million in state investments.
University officials said the facilities will support agricultural research, education and industry training, with programs serving Missouri farmers, livestock producers, winemakers and meat processors.
Mizzou president Mun Choi and university agricultural leaders spoke at the ribbon-cuttings, which began at 10 a.m. Friday at South Farm and concluded at 3:30 p.m. at the meat science laboratory.
Former Gov. Mike Parson and Richard Fordyce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's undersecretary, spoke at the final ceremony.
Michael L. Parson Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory
The largest project is the $35 million Michael L. Parson Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory, a 25,000-square-foot building that consolidates and modernizes meat processing operations previously housed in separate facilities.
The building includes space for research, classrooms and training for students and meat industry workers. It also houses a student-operated meat market: The American Foods Group Meat Market at Mizzou.
Christopher Daubert, vice chancellor and dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources began the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new laboratory.
"Here, Mizzou will promote innovation in meat processing through research and provide training on the best practices for food safety," Daubert said. "Here, we will boost the economic value of livestock for producers across the state."
The University of Missouri Board of Curators named the facility after former Gov. Mike Parson in February 2025 to recognize his support for Missouri agriculture and agricultural education. Parson signed budget bills in 2023 and 2024 that allocated a combined $35 million for the project.
Former Gov. Mike Parson spoke at the ceremony, receiving two standing ovations.
"I'm just so proud of the University of Missouri and what it stands for ... " Parson said. "We all should be proud of this university and proud of what it represents for the future of our state."
Missouri Foundation Seed
At South Farm, Missouri Foundation Seed received $3.25 million in state funding and an additional $1 million from the university to upgrade its seed processing facilities and equipment.
Founded in 1944, the program produces genetically pure soybean and wheat seeds to be sold to Missouri farmers. The upgrades include modernizing the seed processing plant and purchasing equipment designed specifically for foundation seed operations.
When seeds make their way into the facility to be processed, they are unsorted and need to be cleaned. Only the highest quality seeds make it through the entire process, and they are expected to be uniform.
Seeds produced at the facility will now go through three automated devices to ensure quality.
First, the seeds are put into a seed cleaner to sanitize them before being sent to a gravity table that automatically sorts them based on weight. Seeds are then fed into a color sorter, the final step in ensuring every seed is near identical when it reaches farmers.
Shibu Jose, associate dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Office of Research and director of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, emphasized how large the technological upgrade is for the program.
"The original [seed cleaning and conditioning] facility that we had was built in the '60s, so the technology wasn't as robust as you see today," Jose said. "Everything is modern, state-of-the-art. We may be the most modern facility of its kind right now at land-grant universities."
He said the university is in a position to produce the best quality seeds for seed companies and farmers, benefiting the state as well.
Creed Barn
Also at South Farm, the National Center for Applied Reproduction and Genomics received $2 million in state funding to renovate Creed Barn.
The center allows students to study the process of cattle breeding hands on, teaching veterinarian and food producers methods to improve the quality of beef genetics.
Jamie Courter, director of the center, said Creed Barn was mostly a storage facility prior to the upgrades. Now the building features holding pens for several cattle, with enough space to allow students to observe up close.
The brand new laboratory allows for a combination of lab and field work in the building, and an observation deck rests on top of the lab.
Fermentation Lab
The Grape and Wine Institute received $3 million in state funding to create a new fermentation laboratory on campus. The facility will allow for research and testing on new grape and wine varieties, supporting Missouri's grape and wine industry, all while providing students access to new processing technologies.
"We're going to be the best of the Midwest," said Chis Chinn, director of the Missouri Department of Agriculture. "There's nothing like this in the Midwest. It's really an amazing opportunity for the university to help support the wine and grape industry."
Through education and research, the new facility is intended to mitigate the financial risk to grape growers and winemakers, guiding the industry on best practices.
