Parcell Named First MFA Professor of Agribusiness

May 12, 2017

Written By Adam Buckallew

MFA Incorporated, MFA Oil and the MFA Foundation pledged $750,000, payable over four years, to the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) in 2015 to establish an endowed professorship that supports education and research. The first professorship role was recently filled.

Joe Parcell, professor and department chair of agricultural and applied economics in the Division of Applied Social Sciences, was tapped as the first MFA professor of agribusiness. Parcell is the director of undergraduate studies and adviser chair of agricultural and applied economics. He served as the director of the Missouri Value Added Development Center from 2001 to 2013. The Center was a joint venture between CAFNR and MU Extension.

“The focus is pretty flexible,” Parcell said. “Agribusiness can go so many different directions. We want to work for what’s best for the farmers.

“I’m really just a custodian of MFA’s resources. I’m here to ensure that they get used in a wise way and in a way that is valued by others across Missouri. We’re setting the base. My objective is to take those resources and leverage them the best I can to create even more resources.”

Parcell grew up on a hog farm in Iowa. He and his wife ran a row-crop farm for more than 10 years and currently have a farm which they share crop.

Parcell earned his Ph.D. from Kansas State University. He has been with the University of Missouri for nearly 19 years. He began his Mizzou career as an extension agent. He has worked with farmers on a variety of projects, including price information and agribusiness.

“I have deep roots in agriculture and agribusiness,” Parcell said. “I have always been focused on Missouri agriculture, and this is a tremendous honor and opportunity.

“The intent here is to offer support for agriculture and agribusiness in Missouri. We want to promote agriculture and agribusiness and bring more students into this world.”