The Columbia Agriculture Park is a public park in Columbia, Missouri, focusing on food production and distribution. [1] It is home to the Columbia Farmers Market, and contains a pavilion with space for 98 vendors. [2] [3] The park opened in 2019 and by 2021 will include an interactive urban farm, demonstration gardens and orchards, a commercial kitchen, event space, a recreational trail, amphitheater, outdoor classroom, and playground. [4] [5] [6] It will also house the offices of the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture and a resource center. [7] [8] The park was created by a public-private partnership between Columbia Parks and Recreation, the Columbia Farmers Market, the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, and Sustainable Farms and Communities. [9] [10] It is the first of its kind in Missouri. [11]
The site has a long agricultural history, for most of the 20th century it was the location of the Boone County Fair. [12] Ground was broken in 2017 and the park opened in July 2019. [13] [14] [15] [16]