The Jefferson Institute is a non-profit agricultural education and research center working in support of family farmers.

Meet Dr. Rob Myers,
Executive Director of the Jefferson Institute. Prior to founding the Institute, he worked as a national program director for education and research at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Earlier in his career, he was on the agriculture faculty at University of Missouri, and served as a Congressional Science Fellow in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Myers grew up on a family farm in Illinois and has a Ph.D. in plant and soil science from the University of Minnesota.

About Us

The Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute is a Missouri-based 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in Columbia, Missouri in 1997. The Institute is named after Thomas Jefferson in recognition of his strong interest in diversifying and strengthening American agriculture.

Staff have been engaged in agriculture education and research since the Institute’s inception in 1997. The Institute has a history of collaboration with the Missouri Departments of Agriculture, Conservation, and Natural Resources; the University of Missouri; and the U. S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service as well as area landowners and farmers.

The Jefferson Institute provides services to area residents, including the presentation of agriculture and horticulture education programs, conducting research on Midwestern crops, and presenting market development programs to farmers and landowners.

In support of its educational mission, the Institute is building Jefferson Farm & Gardens, a new 67-acre multi-faceted facility located in Columbia, Missouri, which is dedicated to contemporary farming, gardening, and science education. Jefferson Farm & Gardens represents a major new program for the Jefferson Institute and is slated to open in 2009.

Staff

Rob Myers, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Matt Gaunt
Director of Development

Lorin Chann, M.S.
Project Manager

Sue Roberts, J.D.
Fellowship Project Director

Amy Smith, Ph.D.
Youth Education Coordinator

Jennifer Lindsay Smith
Communications and Public Relations Specialist

Catherine A. Bohnert, M.S.
Horticulture Specialist

Alan Weber, M.S.
Marketing/Economic Consultant

College Interns

Austen Gooch
Stephanie Gutshall
Cara Kuhn
Kristen Wright

Board of Directors

Jerry Nelson, Ph.D.
Board President and Curator’s Professor Emeritus
University of Missouri

David Baltensperger, Ph.D.
Soil and Crop Science Department Chairman
Texas A&M University

Steve Borgelt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biological Engineering
University of Missouri

Dennis Keeney, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Iowa State University

Craig Roberts, Ph.D.
Professor of Plant Science
University of Missouri