New farm manager hired to lead ACRE

“I’m excited to step into ACRE as the third farm manager and see what I can bring to the table. ACRE has a great foundation of agronomic research and an incredible staff of research technicians, Bryan, Aaron, and Evan, that I am lucky to work with every day. I’ve enjoyed seeing the variety of research conducted at the farm and meeting the faculty, staff and student researchers,” said Stevens.

Stevens grew up on a farm in the southeast corner of Nebraska. She attended the University of Nebraska, earning an undergraduate degree in agronomy and master’s in mechanized systems management with an emphasis in precision agriculture. After graduate school, Stevens worked as a crop consultant and assisted with digital marketing. She proceeded to work part-time for a professor in the Purdue Agronomy department while also managing a consulting firm specializing in web development and marketing materials for small agriculture businesses.

“I believe that Rachel is the ideal farm manager to lead ACRE’s next chapter of growth and success. The search committee was impressed by her strong background in digital agriculture, innovative ideas and her ability to work in a highly functional team-driven setting. Her drive and determination are already paying dividends for our operations,” said Ron Turco, department head of Purdue Agronomy.

As digital agriculture and agriculture technology continue to change the industry, Stevens is eager for new technology-based research projects on the farm. One of her highest prioritized goals is to keep better track of the farm’s data, compile the data into a more usable format for researchers and leverage it for practical farm management decisions.

Stevens also hopes to make the farm more accessible and applicable to those outside of research projects, including students and Indiana farmers. From launching a summer internship program to hosting Purdue Extension events, she’s excited to undertake new projects that will ensure ACRE stays relevant in the agriculture space.

“Aside from the novel research occurring, I want farmers to know what we are doing on the farm adds value to them as growers. We want to address the research questions that are important to farmers in Indiana and the Midwest as well as food security around the world,” said Stevens.

“Digital agriculture and how we harness data to make sustainable decisions and be better stewards of our resources are going to be extremely important as we move forward.”