Purdue President Says Rural Values Important To U.S.
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
PLYMOUTH - "Hoosiers don't sing with emotion about their skyscrapers or a traffic jam. There is something very special about rural Indiana," said Purdue University President Martin Jischke Wednesday.
Jischke was the keynote speaker to more than 200 women attending the third annual Midwest Women in Agriculture conference presented by Purdue University Extension.
The two-day event, held at Swan Lake Resort west of Plymouth, was designed to address personal, family and farm issues to meet the unique needs of women.
Jischke's talk began the second day of the conference, and he began by saying that since the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, Americans want rural values back.
"It is time for universities like Purdue to step up," he said. He was part of the Kellogg Commission established in 1998 that studied how land grant public universities like Purdue could become more involved in local communities.
"We can and must do better to partner with local governments and businesses," the commission concluded.
Since then, Purdue has established the Ag Innovation Center, established Extension Learning Centers in counties without institutes of higher education, created a Discovery Park and began a Technical Assistance Program.
Two years ago, the university established the New Ventures in Food and Agriculture of Indiana program to help farmers develop new markets and new products.
He said that within seven years, the university will start an Advance Manufacturing Institute. The institute will bring industries to Indiana as part of the new economy, a knowledge-intensive economy, which combines modern science and technology.
Using the state of Washington as an example, he said 70 percent of the new businesses in Seattle have a tie to the University of Washington.
"We believe Purdue is ideally situated to power the future of the state ... and we want to do it."
Innovation Centers have been established in Merrillville, Kokomo and Anderson.
"There's hardly a problem that can't be solved if people will come together.
"We can be even better, we can be the best, in education at all levels, have the best economy for agriculture, for industries with a thriving, high technology.
"A new future for our state is now," he said.
Kosciusko County Ag Extension Educator Kelly Easterday is chairwoman of the Midwest Women in Agriculture conference committee, which had 208 registrants this year.
The event helps women define their roles in making their family farms profitable, provides the tools to strengthen the emotional well-being of farm families and fosters a newtwok of support among women in agriculture.
There were two 1-1/2-hour sessions of five topics each day. Attendees were asked to rank their selections when they registered. Lunch was served both days. Tuesday evening there was a networking pizza party.
Materials were provided for each topic, which included: "Managing Conflict in a Family Business," "Landscaping Around the Farm," "New Ventures: Value Added Agriculture," "Fast and Easy Answers to 'What's for Dinner?'" "Tax Tips for Farmers," "Investing: Smart Women Finish RichTM," "Insurance for the Family Farm," "Passing on the Family Farm," "Pesticides: A Conversation with Farm Women," and "Farm Marketing from Scratch."
Presenters included Jane Eckert, a direct farm marketing consultant and AgriTourism speaker; Bernie Ervin, a professof of agricultural economics and Extension specialist at Ohio State University; Chuck Lehman, founder of Lehman & Lehman Inc., a landscape architectural firm; Jerry Nelson, a Purdue New Ventures educator; Trisha Hockemeyer, a registered dietitian and Adams County Extension director; George Patrick, a Purdue ag economics professor; Stacy Hefty, a financial planner and owner of Cornerstone Financial Services LLC in Auburn; Cheryl Easterday, vice president of Jennings Insurance Agency Inc. in Rochester; Scott Beck, vice president of Beck's Hybrids, Tipton; Mary Ann Johnson, co-owner and operator of River View Farms Inc., Orleans; Judy and Karen McKinney of McKinney & McKinney Farms; and Fred Whitford, coordinator of Purdue's Extension pesticide programs.
Members of the planning committee include Extension educators MaryAnn Leinhart-Cross, Elkhart County; Annetta Jones, Porter County; Karen Richey, Marshall County; Walt Sell, LaPorte County; Edie Sutton and Phil Sutton of St. Joseph County; and Kosciusko County's Joan Younce. [[In-content Ad]]
PLYMOUTH - "Hoosiers don't sing with emotion about their skyscrapers or a traffic jam. There is something very special about rural Indiana," said Purdue University President Martin Jischke Wednesday.
Jischke was the keynote speaker to more than 200 women attending the third annual Midwest Women in Agriculture conference presented by Purdue University Extension.
The two-day event, held at Swan Lake Resort west of Plymouth, was designed to address personal, family and farm issues to meet the unique needs of women.
Jischke's talk began the second day of the conference, and he began by saying that since the terrorist attacks of Sept 11, 2001, Americans want rural values back.
"It is time for universities like Purdue to step up," he said. He was part of the Kellogg Commission established in 1998 that studied how land grant public universities like Purdue could become more involved in local communities.
"We can and must do better to partner with local governments and businesses," the commission concluded.
Since then, Purdue has established the Ag Innovation Center, established Extension Learning Centers in counties without institutes of higher education, created a Discovery Park and began a Technical Assistance Program.
Two years ago, the university established the New Ventures in Food and Agriculture of Indiana program to help farmers develop new markets and new products.
He said that within seven years, the university will start an Advance Manufacturing Institute. The institute will bring industries to Indiana as part of the new economy, a knowledge-intensive economy, which combines modern science and technology.
Using the state of Washington as an example, he said 70 percent of the new businesses in Seattle have a tie to the University of Washington.
"We believe Purdue is ideally situated to power the future of the state ... and we want to do it."
Innovation Centers have been established in Merrillville, Kokomo and Anderson.
"There's hardly a problem that can't be solved if people will come together.
"We can be even better, we can be the best, in education at all levels, have the best economy for agriculture, for industries with a thriving, high technology.
"A new future for our state is now," he said.
Kosciusko County Ag Extension Educator Kelly Easterday is chairwoman of the Midwest Women in Agriculture conference committee, which had 208 registrants this year.
The event helps women define their roles in making their family farms profitable, provides the tools to strengthen the emotional well-being of farm families and fosters a newtwok of support among women in agriculture.
There were two 1-1/2-hour sessions of five topics each day. Attendees were asked to rank their selections when they registered. Lunch was served both days. Tuesday evening there was a networking pizza party.
Materials were provided for each topic, which included: "Managing Conflict in a Family Business," "Landscaping Around the Farm," "New Ventures: Value Added Agriculture," "Fast and Easy Answers to 'What's for Dinner?'" "Tax Tips for Farmers," "Investing: Smart Women Finish RichTM," "Insurance for the Family Farm," "Passing on the Family Farm," "Pesticides: A Conversation with Farm Women," and "Farm Marketing from Scratch."
Presenters included Jane Eckert, a direct farm marketing consultant and AgriTourism speaker; Bernie Ervin, a professof of agricultural economics and Extension specialist at Ohio State University; Chuck Lehman, founder of Lehman & Lehman Inc., a landscape architectural firm; Jerry Nelson, a Purdue New Ventures educator; Trisha Hockemeyer, a registered dietitian and Adams County Extension director; George Patrick, a Purdue ag economics professor; Stacy Hefty, a financial planner and owner of Cornerstone Financial Services LLC in Auburn; Cheryl Easterday, vice president of Jennings Insurance Agency Inc. in Rochester; Scott Beck, vice president of Beck's Hybrids, Tipton; Mary Ann Johnson, co-owner and operator of River View Farms Inc., Orleans; Judy and Karen McKinney of McKinney & McKinney Farms; and Fred Whitford, coordinator of Purdue's Extension pesticide programs.
Members of the planning committee include Extension educators MaryAnn Leinhart-Cross, Elkhart County; Annetta Jones, Porter County; Karen Richey, Marshall County; Walt Sell, LaPorte County; Edie Sutton and Phil Sutton of St. Joseph County; and Kosciusko County's Joan Younce. [[In-content Ad]]