The University of Missouri, in Columbia, was established in 1839 and describes itself as Missouri’s flagship, land-grant public university. Its facts page lists 32,105 enrolled students. Mun Y. Choi serves as president of the University of Missouri System and chancellor of the university.
Agriculture is taught and researched in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR), which traces its start to the College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts founded in 1870. Its divisions are Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, Applied Social Sciences, Food, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, Plant Science and Technology, and the School of Natural Resources. The Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station extends CAFNR research to almost 14,000 acres, and the college’s history includes Sanborn Field, established in 1888. On 9 October 2026 CAFNR held ribbon cuttings for four facilities funded by state appropriations and donors: upgraded Missouri Foundation Seed facilities, the National Center for Applied Reproduction and Genomics, the Grape and Wine Institute’s Fermentation Center and the Michael L. Parson Meat Science Education and Training Laboratory.