Ag Dean Outlines Tall Task for Indiana Farmers

May 28, 2014

By Courtney Lipply

The Purdue Alumni Club of Marshall County held their annual spring dinner last Wednesday evening at Christos Banquet Center in Plymouth.

The featured guest speaker was Jay Akridge, the dean of the College of Agriculture at Purdue University. Purdue's College of Agriculture is internationally known for strong academic, research and extension programs that are at the forefront of sustainable and dynamic agricultural, food and natural resource innovations.

Akridge's speech was titled, "Helping Feed a Hungry World." He expressed his views on how Indiana can begin to help reach new levels of food production in order to feed the estimated 9 billion people that will be living on planet Earth by the year 2050.

"More people that live in rural settings are starting to migrate towards city life," he said. "By 2050, 70 percent will live in cities."

Land use and how Indiana farmers and producers are using their land in both economical and sustainable ways was also discussed.

With the 9 billion people by 2050 concept, Akridge said that Indiana will have to increase its corn production by 50 percent to help feed the hungry nation.

Purdue has a variety of research being performed daily and are researching ways to strengthen the ecological and environmental integrity in agricultural landscapes.

Akridge brought with him an ear of "orange corn," which has been proven to have high levels of beta-carotene, which the body converts into vitamin A to help eyesight.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.