Efforts enhance economic viability, protect the environment and the state’s natural resources, and improve quality of life for Missourians by applying research results and providing research-based education.
Agriculture and Natural Resources
Source: MU Extension Annual Report, FY 2008
As a direct result of MU Extension programs in Southwest Missouri, four newly established grazing dairies created additional investments of $13 million in FY 2008, bringing the in-state investment total to $63 million annually. Further economic growth of the dairies is generating $28 million in yearly milk sales, sustaining 777 jobs and increasing Missouri’s total annual dairy output to $87 million.
By helping Missouri beef cattle producers develop improved winter feeding systems, MU Extension enables them to save $19 million annually by encouraging increased stockpiling of tall fescue. Livestock specialists continue to promote the use in hogs of artificial insemination, a cost-efficient and time-saving practice that grew from less than 25 percent to more than 85 percent usage in the past decade. Missouri’s economy has benefited by more than $35 million from 11 consecutive years of the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program effort, an educational MU Extension program through which beef producers learn how to combine existing reproductive technologies with proven marketing strategies to improve their production efficiencies.
Matt Massie, research technician at MU’s Southwest Center, Mount Vernon, checks forage plots as part of his research into the uses and growing techniques for fescue grass.
Additionally in FY 2008, several opportunities allowed for combined strategic and educational MU Extension efforts to help increase economic strength of local agricultural businesses while improving the sustainability of Missouri’s natural resources and environment.
- Staff devoted to value-added agriculture efforts helped develop a business plan for an aquaculture upstart that could generate annual sales of up to $5 million.
- Use of the Woodruff irrigation charts increased yearly gross profits for Missouri irrigators by nearly $10 million while also reducing their fuel costs.
- A total of 225 crop advisers who influence decisions on more than 8.5 million acres, about 65 percent of the state’s total cropland, attended a three-day Crop Management Conference.
- Of participants in the water quality short course, 87 percent said they would use the information when assisting with watershed planning and implementation.
- The projected economic impact from the Woodland Steward Program is an increased net present value of $3.1 million ($890/acre) on 3,500 acres managed for timber and wildlife production and $400,00 ($100/acre) on 4,500 acres managed for wildlife benefits only.
Success story
Production and Genetics Research Improves Beef Producers’ Profits
Rancher Mike Kasten knew that healthy and well-managed, quality heifers were the key to his farm income. So when he learned of the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer program, he immediately saw its value.
The Show-Me-Select program is designed to improve long-term reproductive efficiency; enhance communication among farmers, regional livestock specialists and veterinarians; improve the management of cow herds across Missouri; increase marketing opportunities and profits for Missouri-raised heifers; and create reliable sources of high-quality replacement heifers—a big advantage for Kasten, who sells heifers to other farmers. “We now have an objective benchmark of quality, whereas before it was just arbitrary,” he says.
Not only does Show-Me-Select positively impact farmers who sell heifers, but it also benefits farmers who purchase them—farmers who typically replace 10 percent to 15 percent of their cow herd annually due to age, reproductive problems or overall performance.
According to David Patterson, state beef specialist and animal science professor, replacing these females has long-term effects on profitability. “With more than 2 million beef cows on 60,000 farms statewide and roughly 1 million heifers produced annually, there is significant potential to add value to a large, untapped segment of Missouri’s beef herd,” he says.
Show-Me-Select adds value by using extension programming and education to connect with farmers such as Kasten. According to Kasten, “This outreach effort is a huge step for the university—and Missouri farms.”
The economic impact of the Show-Me-Select Replacement Heifer Program is estimated to exceed $3.5 million annually.