Indianapolis, In. — Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch gathered partners from various state and federal offices, private businesses and local universities to speak with students from two Indiana high schools on the importance of diversity in agriculture.
Indiana Public School Arsenal Tech’s STAR Academy and Thea Bowman Leadership Academy in Gary, Ind. both offer agriculture programs for their students and had the opportunity to participate in the first-ever Diversity in Agriculture Day at the State Fair to see where an education in agriculture can take them.
“Seeing the students engaging with the speakers and the various activities throughout the day hopefully inspired them even more to be involved in agriculture. They also had the opportunity to learn about the importance of nutritious foods and health and how that can be achieved anywhere you live,” Crouch said. “There are so many avenues an education in agriculture can take you, and since they are already interested in one of the biggest industries in our state, they now see where that passion can be transformed into a successful career.”
Crouch hosted students from the two schools and they had a variety of events throughout the day. They toured the Glass Barn and spoke with the featured farmer, saw a Purdue Vet demo with Dr. Jim Weisman, went through the FFA Pavilion, visited the Department of Natural Resources building and went through the Farm Bureau Building for the Taste of Indiana Agriculture.
During the lunch they heard from various speakers including:
- Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch;
- Dr. Karen Plaut, Dean of the Purdue University College of Agriculture;
- Dr. Willie Reed, Dean of the Purdue University College of Veterinary medicine;
- Jonathan Jones, Improvement Engineer at Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont;
- Myron McClure, Assistant Director of the Office of Multicultural Programs at Purdue University College of Agriculture; and
- Bruce Kettler, Director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
“Holding the Diversity in Ag day at the state fair will also spread awareness that agriculture related careers can transform into many different paths. The importance of showcasing diversity in agriculture is paramount to our continued success in our state,” Crouch said. “I look forward to seeing the promising future of the students that participated today, and the ever-growing prosperity of our agriculture industry as we continue to take it to the Next Level.”
