(Lafayette, IN) – Eight leaders from across various fields of agriculture were recognized with the Purdue Agricultural Alumni Association’s highest honor during the Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry on Saturday, February 1 at the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fairgrounds in Lafayette.
The Certificate of Distinction is presented each year to those who have contributed to agriculture, forestry or natural resources through career accomplishments, organizational involvement, community service and other activities.
One of the recipients is Greensburg area farmer Tim Gauck.
The Purdue Ag Alumni Association wrote the following about Gauck:
A seed salesman long familiar with Tim Gauck’s approach to work and life zeroed in on a personal quality: “He is not a person to give up on someone. His patience is immense.” And then he widened the perspective.
“Tim’s operation was not the biggest in acres,” he wrote in support of Gauck’s nomination for the Certificate of Distinction. “But I guarantee it was the most profitable because he was never afraid to listen to ideas and try new things. We in agriculture sometimes see the work that goes into the production side of our job as the whole picture. But in looking at Tim’s career, he has shown us what it really takes to be an advocate for agriculture.”
His fifth-generation Decatur County farming operation is 100% no-till and cover cropped. Gauck was Decatur County Conservation farmer of the year in 2023 and was honored as an Indiana Master Farmer in 2024. His focus has shifted to specialty crops, such as non-GMO soybeans, non-GMO corn (for overseas markets and bourbon) and seed soybeans.
“For an experienced farmer like Tim, change could be difficult,” the salesman said. “But it never fazed him if they needed to change directions. He was always open-minded and would help lead the charge.”
A risk manager calls Gauck’s operation “one of the most respected of the 100 or so that I work with because of their ability to navigate, maintain and produce on land that requires good management to be successful. Tim is one of the most accomplished agriculturalists I’ve had the pleasure to work with. He sets the bar for all of us, from his farm management to his tireless commitment to better the community he lives in.”
In 2017 he was elected to the Indiana Corn Marketing Council and is the current president. He’s traveled the world to boost Indiana’s agricultural profile. A local farmer says if there’s an agriculture event in Decatur County, “Tim Gauck is there, leading, promoting and participating. Joining him is usually not enough. In short order he will have you LEADING others to join the events.”
Gauck grows corn, soybeans and wheat on his farm in rural Decatur and Rush counties.
He started farming in 1972.
(Hoosier Ag Today and the Purdue Agriculture Alumni Association contributed to this story)
