Purdue Extension Women in Agriculture recognized three Indiana agriculture leaders on Aug. 5 at the Indiana State Fair.
Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, and Jason
Henderson, director of Purdue Extension and senior associate dean of the
College of Agriculture, honored the recipients of the Purdue Extension
Women in Agriculture 2021 awards.
“It was a great honor to celebrate these women. They are at different
stages in their careers and lives, but they have all made significant
and notable contributions to agriculture in Indiana and beyond,” Plaut
said.
Emerging Women in Agriculture Leadership Award
Purdue senior Molly Grotjan received the Emerging Women in Agriculture
Leadership Award, which recognizes the accomplishments of a high school
or undergraduate student who has made a positive impact on agriculture.
Grotjan was a 10-year 4-H member in Boone County and will be a senior
at Purdue this fall in the department of agriculture economics. She’s
held numerous leadership roles while at Purdue including sharing her
story with prospective students and families as a Purdue College of
Agricultural ambassador and serving on the Purdue Ag Week task force.
In summer 2019, Grotjan served as a congressional intern in
Washington, D.C., for U.S. Rep. James Baird, Indiana’s 4th District.
Grotjan proceeded to propose a new focus for undergraduates in policy
and pre-law in the department of agricultural economics, which will be a
new concentration this fall.
She worked as the product stewardship
intern at Corteva Agriscience and as a supply management intern at John
Deere. She also participated in agricultural research with Jayson Lusk,
agricultural economics department head, and Scott Downey, Center for
Food and Agricultural Business director. Additionally, Grotjan was the
Purdue Grand Prix president, Purdue Foundation student board president
and Old Masters host.
Extension Women in Agriculture Leadership Award
The Purdue Extension Women in Agriculture Leadership Award recognizes a
woman in an agribusiness or policymaking position who has actively
influenced Indiana agriculture. Tracie Egger, leadership training
specialist for AgReliant Genetics, was honored with the award for 2021.
Egger began her professional career as a Purdue Extension educator in
Posey County. She was promoted to Purdue Extension specialist in 2000
and named Purdue College of Agriculture’s assistant director in the
Office of Academic Programs in 2001.
Egger made a lasting impact on students through student organizations
and career advising. In her current role, she develops and facilitates
leadership training. For four years, Egger has led the AgReliant Women’s
Network, a credible resource for employees to learn about diversity and
inclusion.
Egger is a mentor to the current Indiana State FFA president, serves
as the Indiana FFA Foundation Board secretary, and has served nationally
on swine organization youth committees and foundation boards. Egger and
her family are actively involved in the swine industry, raising
Berkshires for more than 45 years.
Extension Women in Agriculture Achievement Award
The Purdue Extension Women in Agriculture Achievement Award recognizes
women who are directly involved in a home farm operation. Isabella Chism
of Howard County is the honoree for 2021.
Chism and her husband, Kent, raise corn, high oleic soybeans and
sweet corn. Chism drives machinery, unloads grain at harvest, organizes
the farm books and sells sweet corn at the local farmer’s market. In
2006, she was elected second vice president of Indiana Farm Bureau
(INFB). She serves on the INFB board of directors, is a member of the
executive committee and the audit committee and chairs the State Women’s
Leadership Committee.
Chism is the newly elected chairwoman of the American Farm Bureau
Women’s Leadership Committee. She also is chair of the Howard County
Extension Board, executive director of the Howard County 4-H exhibit
association capital projects and an at-large representative on the North
Central Indiana Regional Planning Council. Chism graduated from the
Lugar Excellence in Public Service Series and the Syngenta Leadership at
Its Best program and completed “Conversation Leaders” training through
the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance.
The Purdue Extension Women in Agriculture awards committee was
co-chaired by Beth Vansickle, an Extension educator in Madison County,
and Lori Bouslog, an Extension educator in Vermillion County. The Purdue
Extension Women in Agriculture team provides educational opportunities
and resources for women in the agriculture industry and coordinates the
Midwest Women in Agriculture conference.
Writer: Abby Leeds, 765-494-7817, mayer36@purdue.edu
Source: Beth Vansickle, bleonhar@purdue.edu
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