On Thursday, October 22, the Purdue Student Farm hosted 55 visitors from Lone Jack High School in Lone Jack, Missouri: 50 FFA members and five teachers, led by Agricultural Education and FFA Advisor Dusty Davidson. The chapter had only one day open for tours while they were in Indiana, and they chose to spend part of it in West Lafayette.
The group was in the state for the 99th National FFA Convention & Expo. More than 70,000 FFA members, advisors, and supporters were expected in Indianapolis for this year’s event, which ran Oct. 21–24 at the Indiana Convention Center, Lucas Oil Stadium, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and other sites. The convention is FFA’s largest annual gathering, and the organization has more than one million student members in 9,591 chapters across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Petrus Langenhoven, Clinical Assistant Professor and Vegetable Extension Specialist in HLA and director of the Student Farm, opened the visit by explaining Purdue’s land-grant mission. He discussed how the farm serves all three mission areas. Students then toured the farm’s high tunnel, field, and container vegetable production sites. The discussion covered crop rotation and cover cropping; using high tunnels and caterpillar tunnels to extend the season; photoselective films that change the light inside high tunnels; soil fertility management; and producing tomatoes, peppers, leafy greens, and root crops.
At the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Facility, the group saw how lettuce is grown hydroponically using LED lighting. The container farms gave students a close look at a production system that is changing how and where fresh produce can be grown.
The visit ended with a conversation about undergraduate education at the Purdue Student Farm. Students heard about the hands-on experiences the Student Farm offers and how working there inspires many Purdue students to get involved in local food production. For high school students considering their next steps, it offered a firsthand look at where an interest in agriculture can lead.
The Student Farm welcomes tour groups year-round. To arrange a visit, contact Petrus Langenhoven at plangenh@purdue.edu or Chris Adair at ctadair@purdue.edu.