Purdue Agriculture

Top 10 Reasons Purdue ABE has been #1 for 10 Years

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020

The U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges recently announced that Purdue’s Department of Agricultural Biological Engineering (ABE) is the top-ranked undergraduate department in its discipline for the 10th year in a row. Purdue’s graduate ABE program was ranked first by U.S. News and World Report in 2019 for the ninth time in 10 years.

Purdue Extension: Creating hope for Hoosier farmers

Monday, September 21st, 2020

Fall harvest, one of the busiest and most stressful seasons for farmers, is quickly approaching, which is why the third week in September has historically been recognized as National Farm Safety and Health Week since 1944. This year’s theme, “Every Farmer Counts,” celebrates America’s farmers and ranchers while acknowledging the need to prioritize their safety and health.

Mental health and stress are the areas that the Purdue Extension Farm Stress Team is tackling alongside Indiana farmers.

Center for Plant Biology boosts Purdue’s plant sciences profile

Monday, September 21st, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many aspects of life on the Purdue campus to change. Faculty and graduate students are rising to the challenge, redesigning lab courses in creative and innovative ways.

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-Harvest Handling at Purdue University

Wednesday, September 16th, 2020

Led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Feed the Future is the U.S. Government’s initiative to end global hunger and enhance food security. More than 20 Feed the Future Innovation Labs are paired with experts from leading U.S. universities to help address grand challenges in agriculture and food security. Researchers at Purdue University power the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Food Processing and Post-Harvest Handling (FPIL). FPIL seeks to reduce post-harvest loss, promote economic growth, improve nutrition, and enhance food security in Feed the Future target countries.

As pandemic persists, student’s research holds new importance

Wednesday, September 16th, 2020

As a sixth-grader, Emma Lendy was the only girl in her class to choose the category, How Things Work, for her science project. In helping her build a telegraph, Lendy said her father, a mechanical engineer, “fostered my interest in delving into why things work, not just taking them for granted.”

Lendy’s inquisitiveness and Purdue’s reputation drew her to the university. While an undergraduate student, Lendy worked in the lab of Barbara Golden, a professor of biochemistry.

Ag labs rise to COVID challenge

Tuesday, September 15th, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing many aspects of life on the Purdue campus to change. Faculty and graduate students are rising to the challenge, redesigning lab courses in creative and innovative ways.

Purdue Extension: Growing communities one garden at a time

Friday, September 11th, 2020

Located within an Indianapolis food desert, 25 volunteers gathered on a hot July day to build six raised garden beds and plant cool-season vegetable crops in a community garden on the campus of HealthNet Martindale-Brightwood Health Center. The volunteers made a vision for quality food access a reality sought by determined HealthNet employees, Martindale-Brightwood residents and the help of Purdue Extension.

Great-great-granddaughter of American Soybean Association co-founder embraces 100-year legacy

Thursday, September 10th, 2020

“Early one morning, when my grandpa was just a young boy, his family traveled to the train station in Camden, Ind.,” said Claire Crum, retelling her favorite story. “There, he saw men shoveling our family’s soybeans into a fancy train. Someone in an expensive-looking suit walked up to my grandpa and shook his hand.”

The man was Henry Ford, who was interested in this new, rare crop. “Mr. Ford toured our farm and shared lunch before returning home with three train cars full of soybeans. He originally intended to use them as a fuel source, but instead used them in the black paint of his Ford cars.

Purdue Farmer-to-Farmer Program Switches to Virtual Assignments

Tuesday, September 8th, 2020

In April 2020, Purdue University’s International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA) and Purdue Cooperative Extension announced the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program to be implemented by Purdue University in Trinidad and Tobago over the next three years. A United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded program, F2F provides technical assistance from U.S. volunteers to farmers, farm groups, agribusinesses, and other agriculture sector institutions in developing and transitional countries.

Purdue Extension steps in to help Hoosier fruit growers

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

From juicy red strawberries to sweet apples and melons, Indiana is home to many fruit growers. While each year presents its challenges in the field, this year Indiana faced an unfortunate late frost event, causing crop damage during a crucial point in the growing period. Outside of the fields, growers faced another challenge, creating a safe and healthy environment for employees and customers.

Ag-Analytics opens branch in Convergence Center, encouraging collaboration

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2020

“Digital agriculture and data science are important tools for our farmers in Indiana,” said Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture. “We look forward to finding opportunities for our researchers, Extension specialists and students to collaborate with Ag-Analytics as they join us on campus as part of the Convergence Center.”

Purdue group prominent in studying chemical compounds that are everywhere — and shouldn’t be

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

As interest in “forever chemicals” increases, a Purdue group in Discovery Park’s Center for the Environment emerges as a preeminent team researching them.
At first glance, a pizza box, raincoat, nonstick pan and firefighting foam don’t have much in common. But a group of researchers in the Center for the Environment at Purdue wants us to understand that in using these seemingly unrelated products, we introduce chemicals into the environment that may linger for millennia — and in the shorter term, affect animal and human health.

COVID-19 sidelines summer plans; Boilermakers adapt

Wednesday, August 26th, 2020

“I told myself in high school that I wanted to make a change in the world,” said Sneha Jogi, a senior in agricultural communication. “While I can’t change the entire world, or an entire issue for that matter, I know I can make an impact on communities, families and their lives.”

Indiana 4-H’ers demonstrate resilience

Tuesday, August 25th, 2020

Each year, youth from Indiana’s 92 counties learn and fulfill the 4-H pledge, vowing their hands to larger service and their health to better living from their club to their community. They participate in club meetings, community service activities, leadership events and more while completing a project of their choice. Each project is a collection of hard work and hands-on learning experiences, resulting in new skills that prepare youth to be leaders in their communities.

Virtual field days present challenges and benefits

Friday, August 21st, 2020

Hundreds of green industry professionals gather every summer for Purdue’s Turf and Landscape Field Day. As COVID-19 spread, so did the realization that 2020’s event would look different.

For a healthy lawn in 2021, seed and feed now

Monday, August 17th, 2020

“You may notice that some areas of your lawn have declined or died this summer,” said Cale Bigelow, a professor of horticulture at Purdue University. “That can happen to anyone. It is nothing to beat yourself up over and does not mean you are a failure as a green thumb. You can fix the problem.”

Purdue panelists respond to record-high soybean yield prediction and economic disruptions for Indiana’s cash crops

Friday, August 14th, 2020

Purdue Extension and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) experts gathered virtually on Wednesday (Aug. 12) to discuss the results of the 2020 USDA crop report and the current status of Indiana’s major cash crops.

Unexpected Plants and Animals of Indiana: Southern flying squirrel

Tuesday, August 11th, 2020

Behind the Research: Anton Terekhov

Monday, August 10th, 2020

Anton Terekhov knows it’s important to keep the analytical instrumentation at the Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research operating properly. But even as he focuses on maintaining the equipment, he also values the human talent that surrounds him at work every day.

Purdue University to collaborate in NSF-funded Engineering Research Center to develop the Internet of Things for precision agriculture

Sunday, August 9th, 2020

Purdue University will be a partner in a new National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center created to develop advanced agricultural technologies to address food, energy and water security challenges.

With a five-year, $26 million grant, the NSF has established the Engineering Research Center for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4Ag). Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) are NSF’s flagship engineering program for convergent research to address large-scale societal challenges.