Allison Jenkins

Farming amid rapid suburban growth is a reality that Mark Scott, MFA Incorporated District 10 director, navigates every day. As a third-generation farmer in Wentzville—one of Missouri’s fastest- growing cities—Scott stewards land his family has worked for more than 110 years while adapting to the pressures of development. Today, he and his wife, Susan, raise corn, soybeans and wheat and run a direct-to-consumer freezer beef business along with a small cow-calf herd.

Five agricultural leaders were celebrated at the 2026 Missouri Agricultural Hall of Fame ceremony on April 14 at the Capital Bluffs Event Center in Jefferson City. This is the third class of inductees to the Hall of Fame, which was established in 2023. Added to the prestigious list were Dr. Anson Elliott, John Fletcher, Jackie Moore, Jim Novinger and Gary Porter.

The line is invisible. The results are not. Gaining more grazing days per acre. Moving animals multiple times daily to fresh forage. Capturing extra value from cover crops and cornstalks. Tracking down a wayward mama cow with her new calf. Those are just a few of the advantages early adopters are seeing from virtual fencing—a new technology that’s now being studied by the University of Missouri’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture in a groundbreaking pilot program.