WASHINGTON, D.C. –– U.S. Senator Kit Bond today announced that he secured $1 million in federal funds for the William H. Darr Agricultural Center at Missouri State University (MSU) in Springfield.

“Local and community leaders in Missouri asked me to help send some of their tax dollars back home for local priorities,” said Senator Kit Bond. “These funds will help benefit the dairy and livestock industry and encourage new generations of Missourians to join the industry though improved research, education and training.”

“We very much appreciate the on-going support that Senator Bond has provided for the Darr Agricultural Center,” said Missouri State President Michael T. Nietzel. “The appropriation for this year will go a long way toward completing Phase III of that project, which is being funded through a partnership of federal, state, University and private resources. Thanks to Senator Bond, we are realizing our vision for the Center: to provide a living laboratory that shows the intersection of agriculture and urban living.”

Bond secured the $1 million in funds in the 2010 omnibus spending bill, which passed the U.S. Senate yesterday. The funds will help purchase state-of-the-art equipment, technology, and program materials necessary to provide educational and research services in the Springfield region. These materials are critical to providing distance learning opportunities for students, encouraging growth, and improvement in the agriculture industry.

The first two phases of construction for the Darr Agricultural Center are already completed. The funds Bond secured will provide for a third phase, which involves the acquisition of equipment to support agricultural mechanics instruction, equip a small animal nutrition care laboratory, provide distance learning or teleconferencing equipment, and install other instructional computers and technologies. The third phase also includes improvements for a research and training facility, which the Darr family provided for through a $1 million gift.

The Darr Agricultural Center is located on 60 acres along the Kansas Expressway, south of Sunshine Street and 5 miles from MSU’s main campus. The center was named after William H. Darr, Springfield businessman who founded American Dehydrated Foods and other agriculture-related companies. On Friday, the MSU Board of Governors is expected to name the William H. Darr School of Agriculture in his honor. For more information on the William H. Darr Agricultural Center please visit the Missouri State University website.