By Blake Jackson
Recent facility improvements and technology upgrades at the University of Missouri’s Hundley-Whaley Extension and Education Center are helping strengthen the center’s ability to conduct agricultural research and provide valuable educational resources to Missouri producers.
Although several of the projects focused on repairing existing infrastructure, one of the most impactful additions has been the implementation of advanced precision agriculture tools.
According to Shawn Deering, director of the MU Hundley-Whaley Center, these enhancements will improve the quality of research conducted at the facility and provide farmers with more reliable information.
“These upgrades let us do better research and provide better information to producers,” Deering said. “We’re improving the baseline so that everything we do here is more accurate and more useful.”
The work was made possible in part through a one-time increase in state funding for MU Extension. The funding supported infrastructure improvements and expanded capabilities across the university’s network of extension and education centers.
At the Hundley-Whaley Center, approximately 120 acres of research land underwent detailed grid soil sampling.
Unlike traditional sampling methods that rely on a few composite samples from larger field sections, grid sampling divides fields into smaller zones and collects soil samples from each area.
The data is then used to create detailed nutrient maps that identify variations in soil fertility.
These maps allow the center to develop site-specific fertilizer and lime application strategies, ensuring nutrients are applied only where needed. This approach helps improve crop performance while reducing unnecessary applications.
The enhanced soil data also improves research accuracy by minimizing fertility differences between test plots. As a result, researchers can make more reliable comparisons and draw stronger conclusions from field trials.
“That’s really important,” Deering said. “If you’re doing trials, you want to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples and not getting results influenced by differences in soil fertility.”
In addition to the precision agriculture work, the center repaired storm damage to the Learning Discovery Center roof and a machine shed.
These upgrades will help the facility continue supporting research projects, educational programs, field days, and partnerships that benefit Missouri agriculture.
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Categories: Missouri, Crops, Education