Skip to Main Content

Visionaries: Effective management keeps farmers in business

Listening to growers’ feedback is one of many tasks Janna Beckerman, professor of botany and plant pathology, performs.

Beckerman is a researcher, but there are many other tasks she performs, including teaching, extension, and listening to growers’ feedback. Listening to vegetable and plant growers’ feedback is so important in her job because they tell her what kind of plant diseases they are fighting and what methods work to control them. This gives her research a pathway because she must fight to find ways to manage a disease before they take over the growers’ farms and put their farms out of business.

One of the growers, Paul Howard, works with Beckerman nearly every day as a farm technician at Purdue Meigs Horticulture Farm. He cares for Beckerman’s research plots along with others. However, Howard also owns his own orchard at home as well. When Beckerman and Howard work together, they not only talk about what is happening at Meigs farm, they also discuss his own orchard.

Beckerman said talking with Howard can remind her that her advice can be difficult to act on due to financial restraints of running a farm or lack of time. This reminder allows Beckerman to stay in touch with the growers every day and understand some of the backstories of the farms when she is trying to diagnose diseases during farm visits.
Paul Howard, Chloe Richard, and Janna Beckerman (From left) Farm workers Paul Howard, Chloe Richard, and Purdue researcher Janna Beckerman communicate their findings at Meigs Farm.
Meet the Filmmaker/Blogger
Bonnie Witt, student filmmaker and blogger Bonnie Witt, student filmmaker and blogger

Bonnie Witt is a junior dual majoring in agricultural communication and in animal sciences with a focus on production and industry. She is from Sullivan, Indiana, and hopes to utilize what she learns in agricultural communication to support her work in the animal science industry.

ABOUT VISIONARIES
This blog and video are part of the Visionaries series, which highlights the work and lives of researchers in the Purdue University College of Agriculture. The content for this series is created by the students of ASEC 280 (Digital Storytelling).

See More Visionaries Stories

Explore other videos and blogs created by our student-filmmakers
Videos are also available on the Purdue Agricultural Sciences Education and Communication YouTube channel

Featured Stories

Emily Forsythe
Emily Forsythe - Graduate Ag Research Spotlight

Growing up in the small town of Livingston, Montana, Emily Forsythe knew she wanted to go to...

Read More
Cankui Zhang
Cankui Zhang named University Faculty Scholar, seeks plant sustainability

Cankui Zhang, associate professor of agronomy, is a recipient of the 2023 University Faculty...

Read More
boiler buzz
Boiler Buzz May 2023

The May 2023 edition of the Boiler Buzz Entomology department newsletter.

Read More
Purdue Field Day participants listen and learn from Purdue Botany and Plant Pathology experts.
Cutting-edge weed research tour and info sessions offered at Purdue Weed Science Field Day

Purdue University’s College of Agriculture will host its Weed Science Field Day on Tuesday,...

Read More
Fresh cuts of beef line the racks at the Boilermaker Butcher Block.
Beefing over prices: How brisket went from the cheapest to most coveted cut

A king among barbecue platters, the brisket is a finicky cut of meat packed with fat and tissue....

Read More
cultivating corn field
The Process of Emergence in Corn

Once the corn seed is planted, the waiting game for the first corn plants to emerge begins,...

Read More
To Top