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Milk, meat, fresh cheese, vegetables, fruit and more packaged into a single box are helping Indiana families survive job loss, higher food prices and other pandemic-related events affecting food availability.
As part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) collaborated with distributors to package and transport fresh produce, dairy and meat products to food banks, community and faith-based organizations.
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For thousands of years, humans have altered — often negatively and inadvertently —microbial communities in a quest to improve agricultural crops. In recent years, knowledge…
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Technology doesn’t stand still, which means neither does Agriculture Information Technology (AgIT).
As a department that supports a technological operations throughout the College of Agriculture and Extension offices, AgIT is always innovating, always thinking at least a few steps ahead.
READ MOREThe Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) has received funding from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) to assist Indiana-based companies to navigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ MOREIn the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, as governments issued lockdown orders and stay-at-home advisories, grocery store shelves went bare. Shoppers scooped up flour and yeast, canned goods, frozen vegetables, meats and any other staples that they…
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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many people practicing better hand-washing and sanitation practices in their homes to stop the spread of the virus. A team of food scientists led by Purdue University believes that poses an opportunity to thwart foodbor…
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Starting in a new position during the middle of a pandemic is challenging. For Caitlin Proctor, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering (ABE) and environmental and ecological engineering, it was also in keeping with an already tumultuous year.
Proctor began in her position this semester, after two years as the Lillian Gilbreth Postdoctoral Fellow in the College of Engineering. During her fellowship, Proctor researched drinking water and the ecological and biological interactions that affect its safety.
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“2020 was a year unlike any other, with numerous challenges, opportunities and accomplishments across our college,” said Karen Plaut, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of the College of Agriculture. “Through it all we were proud to share Purdue Agriculture’s stories with the incredible community of faculty, staff, students, alumni, donors and so many other supporters.”
READ MOREThe COVID-19 pandemic forced many faculty scientists to come in from field work and leave their labs for makeshift home workspaces. Those disruptions have affected faculty differently.
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Paul Ebner, Purdue University professor of animal sciences, will co-lead a project to decrease risk posed from foodborne pathogens in Cambodia.
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Thanksgiving, like most of 2020, is going to be different for families this year. Food prices mirror the uncertainty and volatility that the global pandemic introduced to general life.
“While many of the food prices have come back down off the spikes in late spring and early summer, it remains the case that retail food prices are significantly higher now than at the same time last year. In October (the last data available), prices of food at grocery were 4 percent higher than the same time last year,” Jayson Lusk, agricultural economics department head and professor, said. “It’s been almost a decade, since 2011, that we observed this rate of annual food price inflation.”
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Crises often leave families feeling helpless and out of control. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception as Hoosiers face the loss of jobs, resources, life experiences and social contacts. With the help of Purdue Extension, Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences is helping families cope with change and even find positivity during the pandemic.
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As a professor of agricultural economics at a major research institution, Nicole Olynk Widmar relies on Purdue’s high-speed internet. But once she leaves campus and arrives home about 15 minutes later, Widmar counts herself lucky to even connect to the internet. Zoom can, at times, be a pipe dream.
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“There’s an element of gambling to lumber,” said Mark Smith. “Lumber is a commodity market so it’s up and down all the time.”
Purdue alumni Mark and Jenny Smith faced the fluctuations for 31 years as suppliers of lumber and plywood, but never experienced shifts as abrupt as those in 2020. Within a span of months, the owners of Great Lakes Forest Products, Inc. saw their expanding business reduced to a bare-bones crew before unexpectedly needing to hire a record number of employees.
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