Northwest Missouri State University will celebrate the role agriculture plays in the region with a week of activities Nov. 7-11, culminating with an agriculture market to connect local consumers and producers. 

Northwest’s Celebrate Agriculture Week events showcase the University’s Agricultural Learning Center, located on the R.T. Wright Farm at 22893 U.S. Highway 71 in Maryville. The week concludes with the School of Agricultural Sciences’ annual pancake breakfast from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. and the Taste of Northwest Agriculture Market from 9 a.m. to noon, on Saturday, Nov. 11.

The events are free and open to the public.

“Celebrate Agriculture and the Taste of Northwest Agriculture Market allow us to recognize the integral role agriculture and food play in the region and at Northwest,” Dr. Rod Barr, the director of the School of Agricultural Sciences, said. “We are excited to showcase the Agricultural Learning Center and regional producers involved in the agriculture and food system.” 

The Taste of Northwest Agriculture Market, a collaboration of the School of Agricultural Sciences and the Missouri Agriculture, Food and Forestry Innovation Center, will welcome producers and consumers to tour the Agricultural Learning Center and engage with Northwest faculty, staff and students to learn about innovative activities and education happening within the facility. 

Visitors to the agriculture market will be encouraged to sample local goods and experience flavors of the region while learning about the vital role local food systems play in building resilient communities. The event also will give local producers an opportunity to form relationships with potential buyers and receive feedback as they fine-tune products and recipes.

Other events during Celebrate Agriculture Week include a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8, at the McKemy Center for Lifelong Learning to celebrate a remodeling project recently completed at that facility and a career networking event at 5:30 p.m. that evening at the Agricultural Learning Center.

On Thursday, Nov. 9, the School of Agricultural Sciences will host a visit day for prospective students and then a Farm Safety Night at 5:30 p.m. at the Agricultural Learning Center.

Additionally, Northwest’s School of Agricultural Sciences will conduct a food drive throughout the week in collaboration with Hy-Vee.

About the School of Agricultural Sciences

Headquartered in the Dean L. Hubbard Center for Innovation, Northwest’s School of Agricultural Sciences offers programs in agriculture business, agriculture education, agriculture media, agriculture science, agronomy and animal science.

The 29,500-square-foot multipurpose Agricultural Learning Center, which opened in 2021, enhances the School and its curriculum while addressing infrastructure needs at the 448-acre Wright Farm, which is home to beef, swine, dairy, and sheep enterprises as well as row and forage crops. the ALC enables further innovation and partnerships while addressing best practices for the Northwest campus and agriculture sciences.

For more information about the School of Agriculture Sciences and its programs, visit www.nwmissouri.edu/ag/.