University of Missouri

MFA extends its tradition of supporting Mizzou through an endowed chair in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

Photos courtesy MFA: Proud Past, Bright Future: MFA Incorporated's First 100 Years.

Posted on Show Me Mizzou Jan. 13, 2021

Since 1914, MFA and the University of Missouri have teamed up to support agricultural education and research. In that time, Missouri agriculture has evolved from horse-drawn harvesters to airborne drones patrolling fields as they monitor temperature, soil and plant conditions, fertilizer use, and more.

To keep progress plowing forward, MFA Oil Company, MFA Incorporated and the MFA Foundation have endowed a new chair position in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. The MFA Chair in Agribusiness is an upgrade of the professorship MFA created in 2015.

“Through scholarships and other programs, MFA sends a lot of students to MU,” says Joe Parcell, who was the first MFA Professor of Agribusiness. “This will allow us to attract the best talent to the faculty, as well.” The new position is just one of many ways MFA supports Mizzou. It offers scholarships, donates to and sponsors 4-H and FFA.

MFA Oil Company also gives to the College of Business, including in-kind gifts, such as buying the Missouri Mule Team a new truck. But the new MFA Chair in Agribusiness, which started Jan. 1, 2021, will enable CAFNR to further the university’s land-grant mission with people vital to Missouri — its farmers.