MEDIA ADVISORY: Aug. 27 ribbon cutting for new education center at MU Jefferson Farm & Garden

• WHAT: Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new education center at MU Jefferson Farm and Garden.
• WHEN: 11 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 27.
• WHERE: Jefferson Farm and Garden Extension and Education Center, 4800 E. New Haven Road, Columbia.
• CONTACT: Charles Holland, 573-445-9792, hollandca@missouri.edu.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – University of Missouri Extension invites members of the media to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new education center at Jefferson Farm and Garden Extension and Education Center in Columbia.

The expanded facility is a significant milestone in the continued growth of Jefferson Farm and Garden as a regional hub for agriculture, gardening, conservation, workforce development, resources programming and community education, says Charles Holland, director of the center. The project has increased classroom capacity and added updated instructional technology, flexible learning space and indoor-outdoor teaching capabilities. The expanded education center will create new opportunities for hands-on learning and year-round community engagement in Boone County and beyond.

The facility will support a wide variety of MU Extension programs, including Master Gardener and Master Naturalist meetings, pesticide applicator training, nutrition education and programming focused on emerging agricultural technologies.

Jefferson Farm and Garden is the site of Mizzou’s annual Tomato Festival, which begins 4 p.m. the same day.