5th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center,
New Franklin, Mo.

The Missouri Chestnut Roast, held annually in October, is quickly becoming one of Mid-Missouri's premier family-oriented events. The event is an outstanding opportunity to introduce families and landowners to the broad range of possibilities and benefits agroforestry practices can provide. Hundreds of visitors each year enjoy their first sample of sweet, Missouri-grown roasted chestnuts, along with a variety of products featuring locally-grown black walnuts and pecans, recipes and nutritional information to pique their interest in purchasing nut products.

Activities in the Entertainment Tent:

10:00 - 11:00	Ironweed Bluegrass Band
11:00 - 11:45	Agroforesty DVD
11:45 - 12:45	Ironweed Bluegrass Band
12:45 - 1:30	MU Raptor Rehabilitation Project presentation
1:30 -2:30	Ironweed Bluegrass Band
2:30 - 3:15	Wayne Lovelace, Forrest Keeling Nursery, "Caring for Your New Chestnut and Other Trees"

Cooking with Chestnuts Demonstrations

10:30 - 11:30	Executive Chef Eric Cartwright of the MU Dining Services - Plaza 900 Chef Cartwright and staff prepared four unique chestnut dishes on the stage. Free tasting samples were distributed to audience during the demonstration.
1:00 - 2:30	Executive Chef Craig Cyr of The Wine Cellar and Bistro in Columbia Chef Cyr and staff prepared four unique chestnut dishes on the stage. Free tasting samples were distributed to audience during the demonstration.

The 1819 Thomas Hickman House:
The house was closed this year at the event due to the restoration project.

Guided Bus Tours of the Farm:
Tour guides Mike Gold, Dusty Walter, Mark Coggeshall, MU Center for Agroforestry, and Jerry Van Sambeek, US Forest Service gave bus tours of the farm throughout the day.

Producers and Exhibitors for the 2007 Missouri Chestnut Roast
Free tasting samples and products for sale in most of the booths

Baer’s Pure Scents Bee products booth baerjc@sbcglobal.net	Barnicle Farms Pickled black walnuts tlbarnicle@earthlink.net
Cedar Mikes Ozark Custom Cedar Furniture 417-628-3251	Chestnut Charlie’s Certified organic chestnuts booth, cooking with chestnuts demonstration and tasting www.chestnutcharlie.com
Columbia Master Gardeners Informational booth daydr@missouri.edu	Ernest Hilderbrand Specialty wood turning demonstration and sales booth HilderbrandE@missouri.edu
Forrest Keeling Nursery Containerized chestnut trees booth www.fknursery.com	Furstenau Elk Farm Elk meat products booth terryf@howardelectricwb.com
Gibbons Bee Farm Honey products booth with an observation live bee hive www.gibbonsbeefarm.com	Gift Baskets Unique Missouri-made specialty food products booth JMGARRETT@aol.com
Goatsbeard Farm Goat cheese products booth www.goatsbeardfarm.com	Goods from the Woods Pine nuts and hickory nuts booth www.pinenut.com
Grand Valley Farms Pecan snack products booth http://www.grandvalleyfarms.com	Hammons Products Company Black walnut and pecan products booth www.black-walnuts.com
Ironweed Bluegrass Band Musical entertainment www.ironweedbluegrassband.com/	Les Bourgeois Vineyards Wine tasting booth www.missouriwine.com
MU Center for Agroforestry Free samples of roasted chestnuts Agroforestry publications and information exhibit	Lime Green Bean Accessories by Jean Chestnut theme jewelry and craft items booth Millers3@charter.net
Missouri Consulting Foresters Missouri Walnut Council Information booth Res077jd@gte.net	Missouri Farmers Union Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative products booth www.missourifarmersunion.org
MO Northern Pecan Producers Missouri pecan products booth www.mopecans.com	Missouri Wildflowers Nursery Wildflower plants and seeds booth www.mowildflowers.net
Mount Pleasant Winery Wine tasting and sales booth www.mountpleasant.com/	MU Buck’s Ice Cream Chestnut, black walnut and pecan ice cream booth http://bucks.missouri.edu/
MU Campus Dining Services Cooking with chestnuts demonstration and tasting	MU Center for Agroforestry Roasted chestnut sampling booth Agroforestry publications and information exhibit
MU College of Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Informational exhibit http://cafnr.missouri.edu/	MU Raptor Rehabilitation Project Live bird of prey presentation www.raptorrehab.missouri.edu
Native Plant Society Wreaths, dried plant materials, native plants booth www.missouri.edu/~umo_herb/monps/	New Franklin High School Boosters Club Food concession stand with grilled elk, buffalo and beef products leigh@gkccpas.com
Papa Shrubs and Sni-Valley Seed Co. Potted chestnut trees, native plants and seeds booth pgustafson@grainvalley@k12.mo.us	Pine straw mulch exhibit Demonstration shows uses for Missouri-produced pine straw bales www.centerforagroforestry.org/profit/pine/pine.asp
Sara Ann Denson Christmas Turtles author Book readings at designated times and sales booth www.saraanndenson.com	Southeast Iowa Nut Growers Cooperative Fresh chestnuts www.redfernfarm.com
The Root Cellar Canned tomato products, salsa, marinara www.graphic-illusions.com/rootcellar/findus.html	The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. Schlafly fall beer and hard cider booth www.schlafly.com
The Wine Cellar and Bistro Cooking with chestnuts demonstration and tasting www.winecellarbistro.com	Wilby’s Fire House Foods, LLC Gourmet mustard booth rjwilbey@msn.com
Wilson Pecan Farms Pecans and pecan candies booth www.wilsonpecans.com	Wyldewood Cellars Elderberry food and health products booth www.elderberry.net

Chestnut Roast Photo Gallery

Missouri Exchange Workshop
July 19, 2007 -Columbia, Mo.

Silvopasture Forum
March 20, 2007 - MU Wurdack Farm, Cook Station, Mo.

Focus Group Meetings for Potential Chestnut Producers

January 30, 2007 - Pleasant Hill, Mo.
February 7, 2007 - Mt. Vernon, Mo.

As an effort to expand the chestnut industry, the Center for Agroforestry hosted focus group meetings in January and February in Pleasant Hill and Mt. Vernon, Mo. The attendees were identified before the meeting as potential chestnut producers. The meetings were held to gauge interest in producing chestnuts and to provide growing and marketing information to the participants in an effort to establish a base of chestnut growers in Missouri. The Center has conducted research with chestnuts for the past 10 years, and is now in a position to offer cultivar and marketing information to potential growers.

Mike Gold, UMCA Associate Director, interacts with the Focus Group participants

2006 Chestnut Roasting and Sales Events

• Oct. 13, 4th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast, New Franklin
• Nov. 2 - 4, Small Farms Trade Show, Columbia
• Nov. 11, Columbia Farmers Market, Columbia
• Nov. 29 - Dec. 3, MU Forestry Club Christmas Tree Sales Lot, Columbia
• Dec. 8 Living Windows Festival, Columbia
• Nov. 1 - Dec. 23 Chestnuts were sold from the MU Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Bldg, Columbia

2006 Missouri Chestnut Roast Flyer (pdf) Goals of the Roast Schedule of Events Producers/Exhibitors Chestnut Roast Photo Gallery

4th Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast
Saturday, Oct. 14, 2006
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center,
New Franklin, Mo.

The Missouri Chestnut Roast, held annually in October, is quickly becoming one of Mid-Missouri's premier family-oriented events. The event is an outstanding opportunity to introduce families and landowners to the broad range of possibilities and benefits agroforestry practices can provide. Hundreds of visitors each year enjoy their first sample of sweet, Missouri-grown roasted chestnuts, along with a variety of products featuring locally-grown black walnuts and pecans, recipes and nutritional information to pique their interest in purchasing nut products.

Goals of Missouri Chestnut Roast:

• To increase the markets and production of pecan, walnut, chestnut and a wide variety of horticulture products
• To help revitalize Missouri agriculture with new markets for agroforestry products, including pine straw, gourmet mushrooms, decorative florals and red cedar products
• To educate landowners and the public about the economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry
• To increase traffic to mid-Missouri businesses that promote or sell chestnuts, walnuts and pecans
• To encourage nuts as a healthy, nutritious food choice
• To promote agritourism to the River Hills region and increase visitor traffic to Mid-Missouri
• To generate interest and awareness of the historic 1819 Hickman House as a Missouri treasure

Schedule of Events
(Please note: Schedule subject to change. Check website schedule week of event for most recent updates. Printed copies of the schedule will be available in the Information Tent during the event.)

Schedule of Programs in the Demonstration Tent:

10:00 - 10:30	Agroforestry Practices DVD will be shown
10:30 - 11:45	Cooking with Chestnuts demonstration with Dr. Dennis Fulbright, Michigan State University. Free chestnut soup tasting samples while supplies last
12:15 - 1:15	Children's Storytelling with Amy Prater
1:30 - 2:30	Ironweed Bluegrass Band will perform
2:45 - 4:00	Dr. Fulbright, "Chestnut Products, Markets and Activities in Europe and Michigan"

Free Samples of Roasted Chestnuts and Fresh Chestnut Sales 10:00 - 4:00:

Visit the Chestnut Roasting tent for free samples of fresh roasted chestnuts. Chestnut tree experts will be on hand throughout the day to answer your questions about cultivars, growing, harvesting, marketing and cooking with chestnuts. Fresh chestnuts will be available for you to purchase from the Chestnut Charlie’s and the Southeast Iowa Nut Growers Cooperative booths.

The Ironweed Bluegrass Band from Columbia, Mo. will perform from 10:00 - 2:30 in three different locations around the event

Cooking with Chestnuts: Featuring Executive Chef Craig Cyr of The Wine Cellar and Bistro in downtown Columbia:
1:00 - 2:30 in the Producer and Exhibitor #1 Tent. Free tasting samples while supplies last

Schedule of Guided Tours of the 1819 Thomas Hickman House:
Tour guide will be Rachel McCoy

11:00 - 11:30	Guided Tour #1
11:45 - 12:15	Guided Tour #2
12:15 - 2:00	House will be open
2:00 - 2:30	Guided Tour #3
2:45 - 3:15	Guided Tour #4

Schedule of Guided Bus Tours of the Farm:
Yellow School Buses will load and unload in front of the metal building on the event site. Tour guides will be Mike Gold, Dusty Walter, Mark Coggeshall, Jerry Van Sambeek and Jimmy Houx

10:30 - 11:15	Bus Tour #1
11:30 - 12:15	Bus Tour #2
12:30 - 1:15	Bus Tour #3
1:15 - 2:15	No Tour
2:15 - 3:00	Bus Tour #4
3:15 - 4:00	Bus Tour #5

A Guided Walking Tour of the Research Areas Surrounding the Event Site:

• Nadia Navarette will lead a walking tour that will leave from the Native Plant Society Booth at 12:00 and will return by 1:15.

Producers, Exhibitors and Demonstrations for the 2006 Missouri Chestnut Roast
Free tasting samples and products for sale in most of the booths
(more booths will be added to this list - check back for updates)

Amy Prater Children’s storyteller prateramy@yahoo.com	Baer’s Pure Scents Bee products booth baerjc@sbcglobal.net
Buck’s Ice Cream Chestnut, pecan and black walnut ice cream, event t-shirts, helium balloons booth fsb.missouri.edu/bucks/	Chestnut Charlie’s Certified organic chestnuts booth and cooking with chestnuts demonstration and tasting www.chestnutcharlie.com
Cinnamon Roasted Nuts Roasted almonds and pecans booth	Dennis Fulbright Cooking with chestnuts demonstration and tasting www.plantpathology.msu.edu/profiles/fulbright.htm
Ernest Hilderbrand Wood turning demonstration using specialty woods HilderbrandE@missouri.edu	Forrest Keeling Nursery Containerized chestnut trees booth www.fknursery.com
Furstenau Elk Farm Elk meat products booth terryf@howardelectricwb.com	Gibbons Bee Farm Honey products booth with an observation live bee hive www.gibbonsbeefarm.com
Gift Baskets Unique Missouri-made specialty food products booth JMGARRETT@aol.com	Goatsbeard Farm Goat cheese products booth www.goatsbeardfarm.com
Grand Valley Farms Pecan snack products booth www.grandvalleyfarms.com	Hammons Products Company Black walnut and pecan products booth www.black-walnuts.com
Ironweed Bluegrass Band Musical entertainment www.ironweedbluegrassband.com/	Lime Green Bean Accessories by Jean Chestnut theme jewelry and craft items booth Millers3@charter.net
Missouri Farmers Union Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative products booth www.missourifarmersunion.org	MO Northern Pecan Producers Missouri pecan products booth www.mopecans.com
Les Bourgeois Vineyards Wine tasting booth www.missouriwine.com	MU Center for Agroforestry Free samples of roasted chestnuts Agroforestry publications and information exhibit
MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and School of Natural Resources Student recruiting exhibit cafnr.missouri.edu www.snr.missouri.edu	MU Community Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture Farm model exhibit and antique corn grinder agebb.missouri.edu/sustain/
MU Entomology Department and Museum Live Madagascar hissing cockroach demonstration and race track www.museum.insecta.missouri.edu	MU Horticulture Extension Program and Columbia Master Gardeners Horticulture and gardening information exhibit www.plantsci.missouri.edu/extension/
MU Tiger Garden Fresh floral arrangements booth tigergarden.missouri.edu	MU “Sun Tiger” Solar Car
Mount Pleasant Winery Wine tasting booth www.mountpleasant.com	Native Plant Society Wreaths, dried plant materials, native plants booth www.missouri.edu/~umo_herb/monps/
New Franklin High School Boosters Club Food concession stand with grilled elk, buffalo and beef products leigh@gkccpas.com	Pine straw mulch exhibit Demonstration shows uses for Missouri-produced pine straw bales www.centerforagroforestry.org/profit/pine/pine.asp
Southeast Iowa Nut Growers Cooperative Fresh chestnuts www.redfernfarm.com	St. James Winery Wine tasting booth http://www.stjameswinery.com/
The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. Schlafly fall beer and hard cider booth www.schlafly.com	The Wine Cellar and Bistro Cooking with chestnuts demonstration and tasting www.winecellarbistro.com
Thomas Jefferson Agricultural Institute Educational exhibit www.jeffersoninstitute.org	Wyldewood Cellars Elderberry food and health products booth www.elderberry.net

Chestnut Roast Photo Gallery

Windbreaks and Other Practices to Manage Livestock Odors
July 25, 2006 - Paris, Mo.
Sponsored by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry, with funding from SARE (a program of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service). Not only are windbreaks attractive and relatively low-maintenance, they provide odor mitigation benefits that are critical to livestock operations' owners. The importance of windbreaks, and their design and management, was the topic of an agroforestry workshop hosted by the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA) on July 25, in Paris, Mo.

Funded by a grant received by the Center for Agroforestry through the USDA's Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education professional development program, the workshop brought more than 40 natural resource professionals and landowners together to learn about windbreaks and evaluate a "real world" case study.

Specialty Mushroom Production and Marketing Workshop
Feb. 17 - 18, 2006 — Columbia, Mo.
More than 40 participants from across the Midwest attended the workshop designed to teach the basics of production and/or marketing techniques for specialty gourmet mushrooms, including shiitake, oyster and Stropharia. University of Missouri research faculty members, professional mushroom growers and marketers provided participants the knowledge and skills needed to get started growing and marketing mushrooms.

A hands-on tour of the mushroom cultivation sites at the MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin, Mo., featured demonstrations of UMCA current research and explored the steps involved in growing mushrooms in a forest farming setting. Read more in Green Horizons.

MU Plant Pathologist Jeanne Mihail instructs a participant on the correct technique for drilling an oak log.

Agroforestry Training Workshop
Jan. 10-11, 2006 — Columbia, Mo.
In the fall of 2005, the Center was awarded a Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Professional Development Program grant to fund a series of agroforestry trainings geared toward a targeted audience: individuals from state and government federal agencies, University Extension personnel, and non-profit and professional organizations dealing with issues that directly impact landowners and their management of forests and farms. More than 50 professionals representing several disciplines in the natural resource-based fields attended the January training. The training was designed to increase core agencies' knowledge about agroforestry practices and the benefits they offer when applied as sustainable farming practices, and to foster the establishment of social networks for assisting resource professionals and landowners in finding answers regarding the establishment and management of agroforestry. The event utilized a new and updated Agroforestry Training Manual designed to facilitate all phases of implementing the five agroforestry practices (available for download or order on the Publications page. A tour of the Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center at New Franklin, Mo., featured demonstrations of diverse agroforestry practices. Natural resource professionals broke into smaller multi-agency work groups to evaluate implementing agroforestry practices into a real-world agroforestry case study, Idolour Farm in Boone County, Mo. Read more in Green Horizons.

Mike Gold, UMCA associate director, teaches training workshop participants how to earn profit from trees in creative ways using agroforestry practices.

3rd Annual Chestnut Roast
October 29, 2005 — Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin, Mo.
The Missouri Chestnut Roast, held annually in October, is quickly becoming one of the premier family-oriented events for mid-Missouri and the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. The event is an outstanding opportunity to introduce families and landowners to the broad range of possibilities and benefits agroforestry practices can provide. Hundreds of visitors each year enjoy their first sample of sweet, Missouri-grown roasted chestnuts, along with a variety of products featuring locally-grown black walnuts and pecans, recipes and nutritional information to peak their interest in purchasing nut products. The 2005 Chestnut Roast drew a record crowd of approximately 4,000 guests to the HARC farm to learn about agroforestry.

New Attractions Featured at the 2005 Event:

• Live bat demonstration - U.S. Forest Service
• Tree grafting demonstration - from Forrest Keeling Nursery
• Wreath making demonstration (using decorative florals grown through agroforestry) - the Native Plant Society
• Live music by The Ironweed Bluegrass Band throughout the day
• Wood lathe demonstration with souvenirs for children
• Storytelling, featuring the fascinating history of the area

	A workshop featuring decorative woody florals, one of the diverse niche products that can be produced through agroforestry, was a new event at the 2005 chestnut roast.
	Roasted chestnuts are a popular treat at the annual event. Many of the free chestnut samples served at the Roast are nuts harvested fresh from the HARC farm.

Riparian Buffer Workshop
October 27, 2005 — Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center, New Franklin, Mo.
The maintenance of existing forests and the establishment of new trees in areas adjacent to streams (and prone to flooding) can be challenging. The University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA), and its collaborative researchers, addressed this challenge at a field day in October, focusing on current riparian buffer research and its application on the land. Titled "Managing Riparian Forests and Riparian Buffers," the field day was hosted at the University of Missouri Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center at New Franklin, Mo. Topics included design and maintenance of riparian forests and buffers; planting configurations to reduce erosion; species selection; wildlife management; value added opportunities and cost-share/incentive programs. The Center for Agroforestry extends special thanks to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service and the University of Missouri for the expertise their personnel contributed to the program. Read more in Green Horizons.

The riparian forest buffers workshop brought participants to the HARC farm to learn how to effectively manage this agroforestry practice for maximum benefit - including water quality, wildlife habitat and value added product production.

Shiitake Mushroom Production: From Tree to Table
April 16, 2005 — Ozark Forest Mushrooms, Bunker, Mo.
This hands-on workshop featured demonstrations of shiitake mushroom production and profitable forest management through agroforestry practices. The event was sponsored by Ozark Forest Mushrooms, UMCA and the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE).

Participants learned step-by-step about the shiitake mushroom process, from the management of the forest for mushroom log production to packaging and marketing fresh and dried shiitakes for retail sale. Also featured was a wood furnace that fuels a greenhouse for winter production, partially funded by a SARE grant to utilize "spent" logs as a heat source. Proprietors and staff of the successful Ozark Forest Mushrooms business led participants through demonstrations and field tours, as well as faculty and staff from the Center for Agroforestry and forestry/natural resources professionals.

Nicola Macpherson, left, proprietor of Ozark Forest Mushrooms, leads a discussion about sustainable, year-round shiitake production in her greenhouse. The greenhouse is heated by burning the farm's spent mushroom logs.