The Agronomy Program

Cropland at the University Farm consists of approximately 80 acres devoted to forages, corn, soybeans and various research plots that serve both the agriculture and biology faculty. Crops are harvested to supply feed for University cattle and horses. They also serve as a teaching tool for students learning basic principles of field preparation, seeding, harvesting and crop diagnostics. Other resources at the Farm include a newly established 40-tree apple orchard, a small vineyard, a seed laboratory and a greenhouse. The University Farm also supports an on-going corn breeding program which focuses on the development of specialty starch corn. Much progress has been made in the development of high-amylose starch corn germplasm, which could be used to produce biodegradable packaging material, food coatings, and other food additives. In addition, the corn breeding project at Truman cooperates with many other public and private institutions in the USDA-ARS Germplasm Enhancement of Maize (GEM) Project in the evaluation of tropical and temperate germplasm for agronomic value-added traits. For more information about the Agronomy Program, see Dr. Mark Campbell's home page.