Aug. 30, 2019

Community invited Sept. 4 to ribbon-cutting, tour of new farmhouse

Northwest Missouri State University will celebrate the opening of its new farm manger’s house at the R.T. Wright Farm, which was completed during the last year through a collaborative project with the Maryville R-II School District.

The community is invited for a ribbon-cutting and tour of the house, beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4 at the Wright Farm, located two miles north of the Northwest campus at Icon Road and Highway 71. The house will remain open for tours until 6 p.m.

Northwest partnered with the Maryville school district’s Northwest Technical School to construct the 1,300-square-foot home. The home, which replaces an existing house on the farm property, consists of three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a two-car garage with an open floor concept and full basement.

Additionally, Ripple Glass, a Kansas City, Missouri, recycling company, provided Owens Corning fiberglass insulation for the home. The donation was the result of recognition Northwest received in 2018 as the company’s Glass Recycling Program of the Year.

Several more enhancements are in progress or planned for the Wright Farm and the School of Agricultural Sciences, which represents a strategic focus of Northwest and its emphasis on meeting industry needs. Among them, the University is actively raising funds for an $8.5 million Agricultural Learning Center. The 29,000-square foot, multi-use building will allow for research and scholarly activities centered on crop, soil and livestock resources as well as space for processing agricultural products. It will include space for public and private functions such as producer and agricultural industry meetings, workshops, shows and career development events, and the promotion of agricultural literacy.

Through an additional $1 million investment, Northwest is working to improve the “front door” of the Wright Farm, an active 448-acre farm that is home to beef, swine, dairy and sheep enterprises as well as row and forage crops. Planned improvements include enhancements to the roadway, entrance, signage and fencing.

Beyond the Wright Farm, the School manages a horticulture complex and applied research and demonstration plots on Northwest’s main campus that provide students with hands-on, profession-based experiences. The School offers agricultural majors in agricultural business, agricultural education, agricultural science, agronomy, animal science, animal science-pre vet and horticulture in addition to minors, a two-year farm operations certificate and master’s programs in agriculture, education and economics.

For more information about Northwest’s School of Agricultural Sciences, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/ag/.