IFPA tour group visiting the Purdue Student Farm. Photo credit: Megan Kuhn
On Wednesday, September 2, the Purdue Student Farm and the Overbeck Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Facility hosted Class 30 of the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) Produce Industry Leadership Program. The visit opened a full day on campus in which the fellows explored how Purdue faculty are addressing challenges across the fresh produce supply chain and toured facilities relevant to their industry.
The Leadership Program brings together emerging leaders from across the fresh produce and floral sectors for a year of professional development, industry immersion, and networking. Madison Hopper, Creative Content Manager at Equifruit in Montreal, Canada, and the presiding fellow for the visit, introduced Petrus Langenhoven (Vegetable Extension Specialist), Chris Adair (Farm Manager), and Isaac Damer (Hydroponics Research Administrator) to the class.
Who visited
The 13-member delegation reflected the international and cross-sector makeup of the program. Ten participants came from the United States – representing Colorado, California, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, Delaware, and Indiana – joined by two from Canada (Quebec and Ontario) and one from Australia.
Their affiliations spanned nearly every link in the produce value chain:
- Growers, packers, and marketers: Frutura Produce, Flavor Farms, Fowler Packing Company, Pure Flavor (greenhouse vegetables), and Equifruit (Fairtrade bananas)
- Retail and foodservice: H-E-B (supermarket chain), Chick-fil-A, and Van Eerden Foodservice
- Industry organizations and services: Hort Innovation (Australia’s horticulture research and development corporation), Fresh Alliance, Ten Acre Marketing, and IFPA’s talent development staff
- Agricultural inputs: Corteva
Participants held roles ranging from sustainability, sales, and business development to marketing, distribution, and education programming – an audience well positioned to connect Purdue’s work to real-world industry needs.
The tour
At the Student Farm, the group learned how the farm serves as a living laboratory for undergraduate education, applied vegetable research projects, and Extension programming. Fellows also heard about the farm’s summer internship program and its role in supplying produce to The Lawrence restaurant and the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management’s restaurants.
At the Overbeck CEA Facility, fellows saw how controlled-environment and hydroponic production education and research are training students and helping growers improve efficiency, leafy green crop quality, and year-round supply.
The visit was a welcome opportunity to share HLA’s teaching, research, and Extension work in specialty crops and protected culture with a group of leaders shaping the future of the produce industry – and to hear firsthand about the challenges they face in the field.