MU Center for Agroforestry Gearing up for Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival

Published on Sep. 23, 2024

Updated on Dec. 17, 2024

The MU Center for Agroforestry will welcome families from throughout central Missouri next month for its signature field event, the Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival at the MU Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Farm (HARF) in New Franklin. The event is free and open to the public.

The Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center will host its Annual Missouri Chestnut Roast on Saturday, Oct. 19. Displays and sales of Missouri specialty products, samples of roasted chestnuts and presentations by several researchers will be part of the event.

“We always look forward to this event,” said Center for Agroforestry Interim Director Ron Revord. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to introduce Missourians to the agroforestry products and opportunities that set our state apart in a fun and engaging way.”

This year’s event will take place 10 a.m. – 3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19, at HARF and will include crowd favorite activities such as roasted chestnut samples, live music, kids activities, and tours of the historic Hickman House. This year the festival also offers opportunities to sample perennial foods prepared by chef Shelly La Fata, take a wagon tour of the research farm, purchase plants and trees from Forrest Keeling Nursery and Missouri Master Gardeners, and learn about agroforestry, natural resources, and conservation efforts in the region through presentations and exhibitors.

Exhibitors include artists, farmers, and educational organizations like Missouri NRCS, MU Extension, Missouri Nut Growers Association, the Forest and Woodland Association of Missouri, Lincoln University Forest Farming and many more. See the full exhibitor list here.

The live music lineup includes Meredith Shaw, Andrew Camp, and Uriah Cater & George McVay.

“We love welcoming the community out to the farm for this event,” said Hannah Hemmelgarn, assistant director at the MU Center for Agroforestry. “This is a beautiful time of year to showcase our decades of unique tree crop research at HARF while celebrating fall harvest with family and friends.

The Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Farm is the primary research site for the Center for Agroforestry at the University of Missouri. This nearly 700-acre farm includes numerous experimental fruit (peach, pawpaw, elderberry) and nut orchards (chestnut, black walnut, hazelnut, northern pecan, ‘Bucks Unlimited’^TM oak); five lakes and ponds; and one of Missouri’s oldest brick homes, the 1819 Thomas Hickman House, which is on the National Register of Historic Homes.

HARF is located at 10 Research Center Road, New Franklin, MO 65274, and is one of 14 properties that comprise the Central Missouri Research, Extension and Education Center, part of the Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station.

For more information about the Missouri Chestnut Roast Festival, visit the event page on the MU Center for Agroforestry’s website.

For more information about additional events at HARF, including an Alley Cropping Workshop on Oct. 18, visit the MU Center for Agroforestry’s events page.