Distinguished Alumni Travis Scherer

Travis Scherer (B.S., Agricultural Education, 2001; M.S., Youth Development and Agricultural Education, 2008) grew up in Benton County outside Dunnington and then Oxford, Indiana, on a cow-calf operation. He was active in 4-H and FFA and was inspired by his agriculture teachers, Lewis Whistler and Dale Butcher, to study agricultural education at Purdue.

After earning his B.S. in 2001, he taught agriculture for one year at Northeastern Wayne High School in Fountain City, then accepted a position at Tri-County Junior-Senior High School in Wolcott, where he has taught for 20 years.

Photo of Travis Scherer
Travis Scherer, 2022 ASEC Distinguished Alumnus

Scherer is active and has served in several officer positions in the Indiana Association of Agriculture Educators. He also served on the Indiana Team AgEd and Purdue College of Agriculture Dean’s Advisory Council; he was a Director of Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association; and served six years as president of the White County Extension Board. He received the NAAE Region IV Agriscience Teacher of the Year in 2013, an Honorary American FFA Degree in 2020, and the inaugural Golden Owl Award for Indiana in 2021.

Scherer says he is an agriculture teacher by choice and not by chance. He said his biggest honor is that 103 of his students earned their American FFA degrees.

Featured Stories

Wildlife alumna Lauren Wetterau kneels next to a red squirrel midden in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem; a red squirrel sits on downed tree
Alumna Lauren Wetterau's Research Featured on Animal Planet Show

2023 wildlife alumna Lauren Wetterau is coming to a television screen or streaming service near...

Read More
Lenny Farlee shows teachers how to use a Biltmore stick at the Natural Resources Teachers Academy.
FNR Extension Set to Offer Four Editions of Forest Management for the Private Woodland Owner Course in Spring 2026

Do you want to learn more about trees, forests and how to better manage your woodlands for a...

Read More
FNR canopy image
Into the woods: Discovering forestry at Purdue

For Collin Morris, choosing Purdue Agriculture meant choosing a place that was close to home but...

Read More
Farm land with silos
Q3 agrifood industry sentiment stabilizes near baseline as investment appetite returns

This quarter’s Agrifood Economy Index (AEI) reveals that industry sentiment has stabilized...

Read More
Organic greenhouse in Peru
Growing food security in the High Andes

In Peru’s Colca River Valley, a project with the National University of San Agustín de...

Read More
Headshot of Maria Marshall standing in the hallway of an academic building, smiling.
2025 Hovde Award recipient announced

Purdue University College of Agriculture awarded the Frederick L. Hovde Award of Excellence in...

Read More