Site Archive
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.
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
“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.”
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
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.
READ MORE
Katherine Krick, a rising junior in agricultural and biological engineering, was prepared to leave the U.S. for her first ever international journey this summer. Krick was one of six students nationally selected for Land O’ Lakes Global Food Challenge – Emerging Leaders for Food Security. The program typically includes an internship in one of Land O’ Lakes four divisions and two to four weeks of international travel. Krick and her cohort were slated to travel to Kenya and Rwanda for two weeks this summer.
READ MORE
International Programs in Agriculture at Purdue, like departments and units throughout the university, has paused normal activities such as travel and in-person meetings. In March 2020, the IPIA team migrated to virtual meetings utilizing the Zoom platform to continue to stay connected. IPIA staff have been meeting weekly since mid-March. The virtual meetings are not what you might imagine an all staff meeting would normally look like.
READ MORE
For a company to stay in business for 100 years, it has certainly faced its share of hurdles. Lake Forest Flowers planted its roots northeast of Chicago in 1917 a few months before the Spanish Flu arrived. A century later, facing the COVID-19 pandemic, Lake Forest Flowers continues to find ways to meet changing needs.
READ MORE
Before electricity and modern refrigeration, icehouses were built to keep ice and snow frozen, and it was sold and shipped year-round. As refrigerators grew in popularity, icehouses shifted their business model. They became the predecessor to convenience stores, selling perishable groceries and cold drinks. 7-Eleven traces its origin to one such icehouse.
READ MORE
As March 14 drew near, Purdue alumni Woody and Kayla Nichols grew increasingly concerned about the upcoming open house at their store, Prairie View Ag Supply. More than 400 guests were expected at the annual event, but COVID-19 and uncertainty were beginning to spreading.
READ MORE
Staff in IPIA and Food Sciences worked behind the scenes this spring to ensure 11 international interns’ well being and repatriation.
Ada Camila Montoya Gomez, a senior in environmental engineering at Zamorano University in Honduras, was deep into three research projects at Purdue this spring when safety concerns around the coronavirus closed the university.
READ MORE
The College of Agriculture accounted for more than a third of Purdue researchers who asked for access and support to continue critical research when facilities closed this spring.
With about 15 wiliwili trees in the Lilly Greenhouses, and only 150 left in the wild after an insect pest decimated its population, Purdue oversees an important concentration of this deciduous tree native to Hawaii. Scott McAdam, assistant professor of botany and plant pathology, has been growing the trees for three years.
READ MORE
Angie Frost had been hearing from youth and adults that they needed more mental health resources. So the Healthy Living Extension Specialist for Indiana 4-H Youth Development trained a group of Teens as Teachers early this year to lead other youth in practicing social and emotional wellness. “We focused on that in February, without at all knowing what we’d be going through a month later.”
READ MORE
Farmers markets in Indiana are organized at the local level, subject to county health authorities and regulations. Under normal circumstances, these rules don’t differ much from town to town, Tamara Benjamin, assistant program leader for diversified farming and food systems for Purdue Extension, said.
In the era of COVID-19, however, the regulations dictating safety standards to vendors and visitors can vary drastically.
READ MORE