Site Archive
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
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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.
“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.”
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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.
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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.
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“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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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International Programs in Agriculture (IPIA) has released Lowell Hardin: Mentor Extraordinaire, a book published in honor of late Professor Lowell S. Hardin. The book accumulates Professor Hardin’s achievements and stories provided by individuals who worked with him throughout his tenure at Purdue University.
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