New Agriculture Education Center will open door to hosting other university functions

The Southwest Research Center opened the doors of their new Agriculture Education Center to the public with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception on Friday, Oct. 25. An estimated 120 people attended the event. The building, which was reported to cost $1.8 million, is part of a $6.5 million investment in the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station of MU’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).
The new facility has a 3,800-square foot meeting area with two partitions which can be used to divide it into three smaller meeting rooms. It also has a lobby area, and will soon have a new catering kitchen, among other amenities.
“This structure will allow us to host a greater range of meetings and engagement opportunities than we’ve ever been able to accommodate in the past,” said David Cope, superintendent. “It will further our mission of research, or education, outreach, demonstration and engagement in this area of the state. And folks, to be clear, this is not just a CAFNR facility building, but one for the entire University of Missouri to utilize right here in Mt. Vernon, and that’s an exciting thought, and I look forward to hosting many recruitment events here in the future.”