In the News

Barn Targets Children with Education Effort
Missouri Farmer Today
Oct. 5, 2007
Link to Article

By Mindy Ward

COLUMBIA -- Educating the public, especially children, about production agriculture is the focus of a new building going up at Jefferson Farm & Gardens.

Officials recently broke ground on the $250,000 MFA Children’s Barn expected to open in fall of 2008. The MFA Foundation committed $125,000 to the project.

“Furthering education is the primary mission of MFA Foundation,” said Don Copenhaver, president and CEO of MFA Inc.

“I look at this contribution that we are making today, to the Children’s barn, to serve as a valuable tool, an educational tool, to inform the visitors of the importance of animal agriculture in the state of Missouri.”

The big red barn will house animals that represent the state’s diverse animal population.

Under the supervision of an animal science youth educator, visitors to the barn will be able to see common Missouri farm animals up close in the barn and view informational exhibits.

Designed by Rob Meyers, executive director of the Jefferson Institute, visitors encounter horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. It is a hands-on approach to learning, Meyers said.

Two birthing stalls are a special feature of this new facility. Visitors will be able to see a ewe lambing or a sow and pigs.

“We want to have animals and their offspring each year,” Meyers explained.

The Children’s Barn is only one part of this new 67-acre educational facility under development on the southeast edge of the city.

The Jefferson Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Missouri that conducts ag education and research projects, oversees operation of the facility.

Known as Jefferson Farm & Gardens, the site will be open year-round to the public.

The farm will have many components, including a visitor’s center with an exhibit hall and classrooms, children’s garden, and walking trails through the gardens and around a nine-acre lake.

Visitors also will be able to tour a wide variety of crop fields and gardens, including a fruit orchard, vegetable garden, and demonstrations of blueberries, grapes, raspberries and other fruit crops.

“Jefferson Farm & Gardens in our opinion, upon completion, will be a first-class educational facility,” Copenhaver said.

The $3.2 million project is drawing private and public donations. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., secured initial $500,000 in federal funding for the facility.

Additional funding came from government grants and private sources, including individuals and companies, such as Pioneer Hi-Bred, Monsanto and MFA, keep the project on track.

Meyers said the new public education facility is going to be a great asset to the community and Central Missouri, complementing other museums and attractions in the area.

He expects more than 30,000 visitors a year to the farm, including an estimated 10,000 school children on educational field trips.

“I hope when families and kids are out here that they will walk away with some information about what agriculture is about in today’s society.”