Celebrating National Agriculture Month- Indiana has its ducks in a row
March is National Agriculture Month in the U.S., a time to recognize and celebrate agriculture’s impact our country and local community.
The State of Indiana and Purdue University might be considered synonymous with agriculture. More than 80% of Indiana’s land consists of farms, forests, and woodlands and Purdue University consistently churns out the next generations of farmers, ag technologies, and new world-changing innovations. So naturally, at the Purdue Research Foundation, we can’t just have one story focused on agriculture this month. This is the first in a series that features agriculture innovations available for licensing from the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization as well as agriculture-related news about Purdue-connected startups and innovations.
AGRICULTURE AND THE STATE OF INDIANA
But first, we will recognize agriculture’s impact on Indiana, namely the economy. The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture reports that Indiana ranks 10th nationally in total agriculture production. Did you know that Indiana also ranks:
· First in ducks (hence the title of this piece)
· Second in chickens, eggs, ice cream and popcorn
· Third in spearmint and tomatoes
· Fourth in peppermint, pumpkins and turkeys
· Fifth in corn, hogs, soybeans and watermelon
ALL IN A LONG DAY’S WORK
More than 55,000 farms operate 14.8 million acres of land in Indiana according to the 2021 State Agriculture Overview from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Here are a few more fast facts for tonight’s dinner table:
· Indiana farmers harvested $5.6 billion worth of corn on 5.27 million acres.
· They harvested $4.4 billion worth of soybeans on 5.6 million acres.
· They harvested $288 million of hay and alfalfa on 540,000 acres.
To add to those numbers, Indiana farmers produce huge amounts of other harvested crops such as wheat ($146.9 million), melons ($28.1 million), pumpkins ($26.5 million) and mint ($6.5 million).
Livestock numbers for the state also are impressive:
· 19.8 million turkeys
· 4.3 million hogs
· 810,000 cattle, including 186,000 dairy cattle, 184,000 beef cattle, and calves
· 60,000 sheep
· 36,000 chevon goats
· 14,200 dairy goats
ONLY IN INDIANA, A GROWING AGBIOSCIENCES SECTOR
Indiana has been called “ahead of its time” with the collaborative economic development engine of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) was formed in 1999 to bring together the chief executives of Central Indiana’s prominent corporations, foundations and universities in a strategic and collaborative effort dedicated to the region’s continued prosperity and growth.
Through this partnership, six initiatives were formed that strive to catalyze development through collaboration between the public and private sectors and many globally recognized research universities. AgriNovus Indiana focuses on Indiana’s agbioscience economy with a laser focus on talent development, entrepreneurship and business growth.
Indiana is home to unparalleled agbioscience talent + innovation and through this series, you will discover how.
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By Alicia South-Hurt, Brand & Content Marketer, Purdue Research Foundation
