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UCM Farms
The University of Central Missouri has been committed to providing dynamic opportunities since its founding in 1871. Through strategic planning and planned gifts, the University has been able to commit over 700 acres of farm ground within 10 miles of campus to provide hands-on learning, applied research, and practical application opportunities. Students learn first-hand what it takes to maintain a fully functional and comprehensive farm and graduate prepared for careers across many industries. The farms include:
- High tunnels
- Teaching garden
- Storefront*
- Mule Stables*
- Livestock handling facilities
- Indoor and Outdoor classroom space*
- Apiary
- Greenhouse Complex*
- Shooting Range
- Stocked pond
ContactTravis Hume Brandon Nevils Tori Happy |
Choose the Course of Your Life
UCM Farms partners with several programs to provide a wide range of opportunities that elevate the student learning experience at an affordable cost. In fact, UCM’s costs are lower than the Missouri and national averages. Programs that utilize the farms are:
- Agricultural Science
- Agricultural Education
- Biological and Clinical Studies
- Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences
- Physical Sciences
- Industrial Sciences and Technology
- Communication and Digital Media Production
- Visual and Performing Arts
- Aviation
- Accountancy, Big Data Analytics and Computer Information Systems
- Criminal Justice and Criminology
- Marketing, Public Relations, and Sports Management
- Military Science and Leadership
- Student Activities
- Military and Veterans Services
- Central Missouri Police Academy
Benefit from Hands-On Experiences
UCM has more than 700 acres of land dedicated to UCM Farms, each specialized to provide valuable experiences to prepare students for their industry. Once you choose your program, we’ll connect you to the farm that best supports your development. Our farms include:
Prussing Farm
UCM acquired the 260-acre Prussing Farm in 2002 through a generous donation by the Prussing Family. Located on the outskirts of Warrensburg on East Division Road, Prussing is home to UCM’s Trap and Skeet team and many of the university’s livestock, including our Aberdeen-Angus purebred cattle, our commercial Sim-Angus cattle and hogs. Here you can learn the fundamentals of raising livestock and crops. Some labs hosted at this farm include:
- Basic animal handling
- Livestock show preparation and simulation
- Ultrasound pregnancy detection for livestock
- Artificial insemination of swine and beef cattle
- Diet formulation for livestock
- Livestock evaluation
- Reproductive tract scoring of replacement heifers
- Tissue sampling for genomically-enhanced EPD (GE-EPD) analysis
- Hay sampling and nutrient analysis
- Pasture management and rotational grazing systems
- Agronomic production techniques and cash crop rotations
Mitchell Street Farm
The 120-acre Mitchell Street Farm features:
- high tunnels
- a greenhouse complex
- a teaching garden*
- a native warm season grass plot
- an apiary*
- a retail storefront*
- a multi-purpose historic barn*
- Butterfly garden*
You’ll have the opportunity to cultivate a variety of fruits and vegetables, ornamental plants, and interact with a herd of boer goats and bees. This farm is also home to our live mule mascots, Mancow (Tammy) and Molly! UCM partners with Maple Grove Elementary School, allowing our students to teach children firsthand about small livestock and gardening practices.
*new facilities in progress
Mule Team
UCM today has two flesh and blood mule mascots. The senior member of this duo is Mancow, and the other mule is Molly. Both reside at the University Farm and are frequently seen at Mules home football games, the annual Get the Red Out street fair and other special events.
While the mule has endeared itself to UCM, it is also the official state animal in Missouri. Many years after the university’s founding in 1871, Missouri continued a proud tradition of breeding quality mules that were shipped from places such as Warrensburg across the country and overseas. They were used to farm the land, harvest timber, work mines, build roads, and even accompanied soldiers to war.
Skyhaven Airport
At UCM’s over 400 acre Skyhaven Airport, students can see how we bale hay around the terminal and runways in cooperation with the FAA. The university also owns 60 acres of land directly south of 50 highway and Skyhaven Airport that allows for increased row-crop production opportunities.
New Facilities*(as listed above):
The University farms recently partnered with the Agricultural Department in applying for a grant through the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development. We were successfully awarded a $2 million grant that required a $2 million match. The grant will help agriculture develop 5 new stackable certificates and build the following dual purpose facilities on the Mitchell St farm:
- Retail Storefront - The Mitchell St farm will construct a retail storefront that will allow all of the commodities we produce to be taken directly to the consumer. This will allow students from all majors the chance to participate in any part of food production from conception to consumption. The store will carry fruits, vegetables, plants, goat, beef, pork, and honey by-products raised by the University and it will also carry locally grown goods produced by members of the local community.
- Apiary - We currently have a small apiary in support of Heroes to Hives, a collaboration with MU Extension - Johnson County. The grant will allow us to expand our apiary out to nearly three times its current size, allowing students to take part in harvest as well as creating value-added products to be sold out of the retail storefront
- Greenhouse Complex - The current greenhouse complex is located on a residential street and does not allow for expansion. In efforts to expand collaborations with campus partners and provide more opportunities for our students we will be constructing a new, much larger greenhouse complex on the Mitchell St farm. This complex will support the agriculture department, biology department, campus grounds, the Central Missouri Police Academy, the Horticulture club, and keep the storefront stocked with finished produce.
- Teaching Garden - The university had a teaching garden built and a working relationship with Maple Grove Elementary allowing their elementary students to learn about gardening from current college students. This facility will be reconstructed and continued upon the completion of the greenhouse complex.
- Butterfly Garden - The existing butterfly garden was taken down with the intent to relocate and reconstruct much larger. In collaboration with ecology students and agriculture students we will be redesigning and installing a pollinator garden that will not only support butterflies, but also support the worker bees within our apiary.
- Historic barn remodel - The original barn on this farm will be refinished to honor its history but the inside will be outfitted with stalls for our live mules, a small livestock pen, goat handling facilities, a conference room, storage area, offices and public restrooms.
Companies that collaborate with the farms and regularly interact with students:
- John Deere Inc.
- Pioneer Seeds
- MU Extension
- MFA Inc
- Quad County Vet Clinic
- Windsor Livestock
- USDA
- MDC
- Hertzog Meats
- Valley Oaks Angus/Premier Genetics
- 3C Cattle Company
