Notable Farms and Farmers
Among the famous farms of Nodaway County:
- Herbert Hoover Farm - Herbert Hoover had a farm south of Graham, Missouri. Hoover never actively farmed the land he owned, though he visited in the 1930s after leaving office.
- Jones Horse Racing Dynasty - Horse racing trainers Ben A. Jones and his son Horace A. "Jimmy" Jones had a farm near Parnell, Missouri and retired there. During their tenure at Calumet Farm, they trained six Kentucky Derby and two Triple Crown winners. Extensive memorabilia from the racing days are in the Nodaway County Historical Society Museum.
- Bilby Ranch - The Bilby Ranch, founded near Quitman, Missouri, had holdings throughout the West in the late 19th century and early 20th century and claimed to be second only to the King Ranch in size and a dispute over its cattle reached the United States Supreme Court.
- Faustiana Farm - Isaac N. Prather was one of the first settlers in Nodaway County settling there from Kentucky in 1839 shortly after the Platte Purchase established a farm just west of Maryville. Prather imported the famous English thoroughbred Faustus and named his farm Faustiana after this horse. The Townsend family who operated a grocery business used the name for their Percheron, Standardbred and American Saddlebred horses when they owned. Many national champion horses come from the line. The farm is a now Maryville housing subdivision.
- Rancho del Rayo - William Robbins, who made his fortune with the Robbins Lighting Rod Company in Maryville, established a ranch near Hopkins that claimed to be the biggest ranch in Missouri after the Bilby Ranch dissolution in 1919. Robbins, who was active in Republican politics, hosted numerous political picnics attended by all levels of U.S. Senators and Governors of Missouri.
- R.T. Wright University Farm - Northwest Missouri State University owns a 750 acres (3.0 km2) farm north of the campus (locally referred to as the "North Farm"). Among the research evolving from the farm is the use of global positioning satellites for farming and a biofuel project which garnered US 6149694 for transforming manure into fuel pellets that burn with no odor and do not release dangerous gases. The farm is conducting experiments in genetic combinations for plants. In 2006, the university drew the ire of Anheuser-Busch when it proposed a partnership with Ventria to develop genetically altered rice.
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