February 14, 2005

Fish Fry honors eight with Certificate of Distinction awards

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue University Agricultural Alumni Association presented its highest honor, the Certificate of Distinction, to eight Hoosier agricultural leaders on Saturday (Feb. 12) at the annual Purdue Ag Alumni Fish Fry in the Marsh Blue Ribbon Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

"The alumni association is always proud to pay tribute to people who represent the agricultural profession so well to others," said Donya Lester, the association's executive secretary. "This year's recipients are an exceptional group of ambassadors."

The awards have been presented annually since 1938. This year's Certificate of Distinction recipients are:

• Terry Hayhurst, Terre Haute, Ind., owner/manager of Hayhurst Farms, a family partnership that includes 1,200 acres of crops, 30 head of Polled Hereford cattle and a 4,000 head-per-year hog operation. Hayhurst earned his bachelor's degree in animal sciences from Purdue in 1984.

• C. Leon Johnson, Orleans, Ind., founder of River View Farms, a diversified crop and livestock operation in Orange County, where he built a legacy of innovation and community service spanning eight decades. Johnson attended Purdue's Ag Winter Short Course in 1935.

• Bret D. Marsh, Carmel, Ind., has served as Indiana state veterinarian since January 1994. Marsh graduated from Purdue in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in animal sciences. He earned a doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Purdue's School of Veterinary Medicine in 1984.

• Herbert W. Ohm, West Lafayette, Ind., a professor of agronomy at Purdue who specializes in wheat and oat breeding research. He received a doctorate in 1972 from Purdue and joined the faculty that year.

• Ned Stump, LaGrange, Ind., became the first vocational agriculture teacher at Prairie Heights Community School Corp. in 1963, a position he held for 37 years until his retirement in 2000. Stump graduated from Purdue in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in agricultural education.

• Kaye and William Whitehead, Muncie, Ind., operate Seldom Rest Farms, a 3,300-acre grain, hay and hog operation. The Whiteheads' farm utilizes no-till planting, modern manure management, and detailed production records for crops and livestock.

• Harold Wilson, Peru, Ind., has been a successful grain and hog farmer for almost 60 years. Wilson graduated from Purdue in 1951 with a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics. A consummate manager, Wilson's farrow-to-finish hog operation has remained essentially the same size for 30 years, yet the data collected and analyzed by his feed supplier consistently ranks it among the most profitable in his area.

Writer: Tom Campbell, (765) 494-8084

Source: Donya Lester, (765) 494-8593

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

Note to Journalists: A publication-quality photo of the recipients is available online.

Related Web site:
Purdue Agriculture

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