The Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center (HARC), located at New Franklin, Mo., is the primary research site for the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. This 665-acre farm includes numerous experimental fruit (peach, pawpaw, elderberry) and nut orchards (chestnut, black walnut, northern pecan, ‘Bucks Unlimited’TM oak); prairie restoration, monarch butterfly habitat, forest farming, riparian buffers, silvopasture, alley cropping, and windbreak demonstrations as well as forage shade trials; flood tolerance trials; drought tolerance trials (rainout shelter), biofuel trials; pinestraw production trials; greenhouses; five lakes and ponds and one of Missouri’s oldest brick homes, the 1819 Thomas Hickman House on the National Register of Historic Homes.
The farm is set in the beautiful, rolling Missouri River hills. Tours and educational events, including the annual Missouri Chestnut Roast, are hosted regularly. HARC is one of the University of Missouri’s outstanding Agricultural Research Centers, a network of sites across the state hosting state-of-the-art programs that bring Missouri agricultural land and forest owners’ new information for reaching maximum income potential and environmental benefits on a variety of land types and ecoregions.
Please help us continue our great work by supporting the Horticulture and Agroforestry Center!