<p>You might want to look a bit more at what Washington University in St. Louis has to offer in the way of plant biology. At the graduate student level, there is a lot of collaboration with the Monsanto Corp (major player in agricultural research, headquartered in St. Louis) and with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. I don’t know the specifics about how that would affect undergraduate opportunities, but at the universities with which I am familiar, talented undergraduates have no trouble getting involved in research labs. Wash U. does offer some lucrative merit scholarships if that is of interest to you.</p>