Dr. Michael A. Gold is a research professor and associate director at the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry (UMCA). Dr. Gold has been active in agroforestry research, education, and outreach for the past 40 years. He was a founding member and first president of the Association for Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA) and served on the editorial board of the Agroforestry Systems journal for 11 years.

Dr. Gold holds a B.S. in forestry and a Ph.D. in forest genetics and agroforestry from Michigan State University (MSU). At MSU he focused on tropical agroforestry, primarily on fodder trees and indigenous knowledge. He has taught agroforestry courses since 1987 and currently teaches the agroforestry overview core course as part of the Center’s 100% online agroforestry M.S. and graduate certificate program. He is the agroforestry graduate emphasis area coordinator for the MU School of Natural Resources and advises approximately 25 online agroforestry graduate students.

With funding from a SARE PDP grant, Dr. Gold was the lead principal investigator in the establishment of the Center’s annual Agroforestry Academy. His research focuses on the selection and improvement of Chinese chestnut and the development of market and consumer knowledge for multiple specialty crops (e.g., chestnut, elderberry, pawpaw).

Areas of Expertise

Scientist, Professor

Company/Organization/Affiliation

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry

Publications / Website Link

Michael Gold, PhD