We need your help to raise $300,000 in the next four weeks! Contractors have submitted their bids for the project and we have the opportunity to include some phase 2 components in this year's construction. Your donation or pledge in the coming weeks is crucial to helping us speed up the timeline.
Read MoreA few weeks ago, Adam, Carrie, and I traveled to the St Louis Science Center to visit their new(ish) GROW exhibit, a one-acre agriculture demonstration outside of the museum. We met up with some friends from Gateway Greening, MU Center for Agroforestry and got an exclusive tour of the exhibit with the exhibit’s manager Maddie Earnest.
Read More"In dreaming about the future agriculture park, we have identified 3 issues that we want our production system to address: perennial weed pressure, compacted soil, and clay soils with low organic matter.
Read MoreIf you haven’t yet heard, focus groups are currently being conducted and our community health survey is open through March 15th . Anyone who buys and/or eats food in Columbia is welcome and encouraged to participate in both!
Read MoreCorrina Smith, executive director of the Columbia Farmers' Market, said the new location should not affect the vendors."We still expect to have our 80 vendors in attendance selling their wide range of fresh and local products," she said.
Read More"Funding sources continue to come in for a new agriculture park in west central Columbia. The Convention and Visitor's Bureau advisory board approved $75,000 in funds for construction of the new park, which will have facilities for a year-round farmer's market and space for potential events."
Read MoreOn this episode of Show-Me Ag… Columbia’s Famer’s Market is one of the top 100 in the nation but it aspires to be in the top ten. See how multiple groups are pooling their resources and growing public support to make that happen.
Read More"Despite a 44-degree temperature, wind and rain, a crowd of more than 50 people gathered at the market to celebrate the start of construction on the new Clary-Shy Agriculture Park. Multiple speakers endured the inclement weather to pay homage to the site’s history and express their excitement for its future.
Read MoreThe Columbia City Council received a rare round of applause Monday after members unanimously approved plans for the Clary-Shy Agriculture Park.
Read MoreMultiple council members were effusive in their support for the project.Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala said, “What’s not to like?,” and called the project a “win-win-win-win situation.”
Read MoreEvery council member supported the plan for Columbia Parks and Recreation to redevelop Clary-Shy Park into a new park and facility for several farming groups. The crowd at Monday's city council meeting applauded when the council approved it.
Read MorePhase one construction will begin in early 2018 and is scheduled to be completed by summer of 2018. Features and components in this phase include the storm water detention basin upgrades, utility hookups, the concrete slab for the main market pavilion (called the MU Health Care Pavilion), and the center section of the pavilion, which includes public restrooms.
Read More"some businesses sign up for a monthly $20 contribution, which is $1,000 in a 4-year period. A number of naming opportunities are also available that will recognize donors once the park is built. Many of the businesses donors have allocated funds from their marketing budget to support the project. Everyone has a different ability to give, yet each gift is meaningful."
Read More“We all eat, right? So we all benefit from eating healthy foods. The agriculture park is a venue to support healthy living in this region.”
Read More“They’ve really come at this project very strategically. It’s beyond ‘if you build it they will come.’ They’re connecting with community residents to make this the best facility possible, which gives them a different level of authenticity. Not only that, they have the data to back up what the residents need. Combine all that with a varied group of partners, each of which is playing a part in making the park a success, I found it really impressive.”
Read More"The planning and zoning commission unanimously approved plans for the Clary-Shy agriculture park at Thursday night's meeting.
Read MoreA $400,000 grant from the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program will be gifted to the city of Columbia to help fund the Clary-Shy Park Urban Demonstration Farm project, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior and the National Park Service.
Read More"What's really neat about this project is that it's a public-private partnership, so it is leveraging resources that the city and the parks system has and it is leveraging resources that the nonprofit organizations involved can bring to the table".
Read More"I still remember taking pictures with my family near the pumpkins, I still remember what the inside of the barn looked like. So, you know, who knows why the things that stick in a kids’ head stick.
Read MoreAt Saturday’s campaign launch the thousands of people in attendance were able to see into the future.
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