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May 1, 1998
Purdue Agriculture receives Fund
for Rural America grants
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Six multidisciplinary projects involving Purdue University
and developed to address the needs of rural Americans have received grant money from
the Fund for Rural America.
The fund is part of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 and
is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research,
Education and Extension Service. Grants are awarded to research, education and Extension
projects that will improve the quality of life in rural America. This year, Purdue
is a collaborator in four projects and leader of two other projects receiving grants.
One project on which Purdue has taken the lead, "Comprehensive Risk Management Education
for Corn Belt Agriculture," received a $300,000 grant. The three-year, multistate
project already has begun to help agricultural producers improve their decision-making skills in marketing, production and other areas involving risk management.
"We've developed a model for risk management, a risk-management handbook, and a risk-management
Web site," said Timothy Baker, Purdue agricultural economist. "We'll also be giving
training sessions and educational programs."
Baker added that a beta version of the risk-management model is available on the Web
site at http://www-agecon.ag.ohio-state.edu/agrisk/agrisk.htm. He said he and his
collaborators at Ohio State University and the University of Illinois will be presenting
programs at the regional level and following up with local meetings.
"Distance-Delivered Master of Business Administration Degree in Food/Agriculture"
at Purdue received a $400,000 grant. The idea of the project is to design and develop
an MBA program addressing the unique challenges of the food and agricultural marketplace and providing the necessary management concepts, according to Purdue agricultural
economist Jay Akridge. Because the program will be accessible in isolated rural areas,
individuals there will be able to earn an MBA with minimal time away from the job.
Other projects involving Purdue are: "Assessing the Impact of Integrator Practices
on Contract Poultry Growers," "Midwestern Agroforestry for Rural Development: A Multi-Disciplinary
Approach," "Developing Optimal Forage Crop Selection Tools" and "The Forest Bank: Concept to Reality."
Of 1,100 proposals, 115 were recommended for funding. Projects awarded funding were
selected on a competitive basis by panels of nationally recognized researchers and
practitioners. Priority was given to those projects that addressed the fund goals
of international agricultural competitiveness, environmental stewardship and improving the
quality of life for rural Americans. Importance was placed on projects that demonstrated
holistic, interdisciplinary approaches to problem solving and reflected innovative
and nontraditional collaboration across disciplines and institutions.
Source: Timothy Baker, (765) 494-4237; e-mail, baker@agecon.purdue.edu
Writer: Andrea McCann, (765) 494-8406; e-mail, mccann@aes.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu
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