“Forrest Keeling Field Day is the best day of the year,” one attendee exclaimed. And from the energy and excitement, it was apparent that over 500 industry professionals who attended Forrest Keeling’s 2024 Field Day felt the same. The event theme, ‘One Health,’ recognized the interconnectedness of the health of people, plants, and their shared environment.
Welcome and Keynote
Kim Lovelace Hainsfurther, president of Forrest Keeling Nursery, welcomed attendees and introduced the morning keynote speaker, Sara Parker Pauley.
Sara retired on July 1 as director of the Missouri Department of Conservation. Under her leadership, MDC continued to further its mission of protecting the state’s natural resources. However, her dedication and talent have made Sara a recognized conservation leader globally. A leader who continues her commitment to our Field Day theme, ‘One Health’. ‘One Health’ is a collaborative effort to achieve optimal health for people, animals, and our environment.
Sara’s keynote explained ‘One Health’ with the Native American story of creation and man’s role in caring for the earth, its plants, and animals. In caring for each, man could help maintain balance and health for all.
Morning Breakouts
Following the keynote, attendees chose from three, morning breakouts and three site tours. In each, attendees learned practical ways to use their knowledge and expertise. Tours included RPM Production, Scion Orchard, and Silvopasture techniques.
Morning breakout speakers included:
- “Green Dreams or Growing Pains?” with Jerany Jackson, ASLA, Great Rivers Engineering senior project manager, shared her insights on bringing native landscapes to urban spaces. Her presentation offered ideas for helping clients embrace the vision of better green solutions.
- “How Water Health Sustains One Health” with Stuart Miller, Sherry Fischer, and Emily Tracy-Smith, Missouri Department of Conservation, explained how water quality, quantity, and biota sustain healthy aquatic ecosystems, and why those are vital for people’s health and well-being. This expert panel explained how, ecologically, everything is connected to everything else.
- “Greenspace, Agroforestry, and Wellness in Urban Environments” with Paul M. Harris and Hongbin Gao, Atlantic States Legal Foundation, shared how ASLF has created over a dozen food forests in Central New York urban areas. This dynamic duo discussed how their non-profit organization navigates a landscape of multiple partnerships and resources to create a successful agroforestry program.
Luncheon Highlights
After morning breakouts, lunch was set up in the Nursery’s stunning Cypress Grove. St. Louis’ award-winning Farmhaus Restaurant prepared a farm-to-table buffet. Owner/Chef Kevin Willmann’s list of accolades includes “Best New Chef” by Food and
Wine Magazine in 2011. He’s also been a finalist twice for the James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chef Midwest” award.
The luncheon’s star was a whole smoked beef from the Schewe Ranch accompanied by local-sourced sides. After lunch, Jerany Jackson roused the crowd with her “Miss Communications” exercise on how to create better dialogues with customers, co-workers, and key decision-makers.
Afternoon Session and Breakouts
Kim Hainsfurther, Forrest Keeling’s president, provided a general session program, “Small Changes Make Big Differences: Creating Big Environmental Benefits One Landscape at a Time.” Her presentation explained how Forrest Keeling chose the ‘One Health’ theme and how the theme relates to the Forrest Keeling mission, ‘Restoring the Earth’s Ecosystems One Tree at a Time.’ She also covered the history behind the Nursery’s patented RPM-production technology and how the technology has made Forrest Keeling’s RPM-produced trees the benchmark for wetland habitat restorations.
The afternoon breakouts offered new speakers along with additional site tours. Afternoon breakouts included:
- “Agroforestry and One Health” with Chung Ho Lin, Ph. D., Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri-Columbia, highlighted the ongoing Agroforestry research at the MU Center for Agroforestry, encapsulating the essence of the One Health concept. By integrating trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes, agroforestry provides a multifaceted solution that enhances human, environmental, soil, and plant health while fostering economic development in the region. The presentation showcased several key projects and identified growing markets for specialty crops.
- “How Land Health Sustains One Health,” with Stuart Miller, Robbie Doerhoff, Frank Nelson, Missouri Department of Conservation, expanded on the morning breakout on water quality showing how soil healthy is vital for healthy terrestrial ecosystems, and the health and well-being of people.
- “More Trees Please!” with Meagan Love, Compton Gardens and Arboretum & Foresting the Future, Peel Compton Foundation, showed how the Foundation works to connect its community through nature, education, recreation, and preservation with four unique sites in Bentonville, Arkansas. The Peel Compton Foundation is also dedicated to improving tree canopy within its community through the Foresting the Future Tree program.
Networking and Webfoot Kennels Master retriever demonstration
After a full day of learning, it was time to meet up with new and old friends at the Crooked Saddle bar in the Cypress Grove. In addition to beer, wine and soft drinks, ‘Missouri’ (Pawpaw) and ‘Mississippi’ (Persimmon) Mules were served. Webfoot Kennels also hosted a master retriever demonstrationin the South Nursery Reservoir.
If you missed this year’s event, we recorded Sara’s keynotes and highlights of the breakouts. These will soon be available on our website, FKNursery.com. And be sure to ‘save the date’ for our next biennial event, Thursday, September 17, 2026.
Forrest Keeling…. where the best trees begin! To learn more and to discover the difference of Forrest Keeling, visit https://fknursery.com/. You’ll also find our all-new Wholesale Catalog and ‘Specialty Crop’ booklet on our website. Both are available for viewing or downloading. Or contact us, and we will send you a printed copy.