Purdue Ag Week to celebrate Indiana and international agriculture

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For the 12th year, agriculture will be celebrated on Purdue University’s campus April 10-14 during the student-led Ag Week. During the week students will highlight the giant leaps within Purdue’s College of Agriculture and the agriculture industry, sharing those with other students and the local community.

Students are invited to participate in daily events on Memorial Mall and stay connected with Purdue Ag Week on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Spotify and YouTube at @PurdueAgWeek.

The Purdue Ag Week Task Force, a team of 20 students, organized 2023 Ag Week. Key events for this year include:

• Milk Monday (April 10): In collaboration with the Purdue Dairy Club, Milk Monday will focus on production agriculture, specifically the dairy industry, through educational booths, having live cattle on campus from Purdue’s Animal Sciences Research and Education Center, and the distribution of milk and grilled cheese sandwiches to students.
• Tech Tuesday and Presidential Dialogue (April 11): Tech Tuesday will highlight groundbreaking technological advancements in farm equipment and drones that impact the agricultural industry. Industry professionals will showcase their equipment to students on Memorial Mall. On Tuesday evening, the 2023 Presidential Dialogue will begin at 4 p.m. ET in Fowler Hall and is open to the public. Panelists Teddy Bekele, chief technology officer for Land O’Lakes; Malcolm DeKryger, Purdue University Board of Trustees member and president and co-owner of Belstra Milling Co.; Kyle Kunkler, director of government affairs for the American Soybean Association; and Karen Plaut, Purdue University executive vice president for research, will discuss topics within the agriculture industry, including agriculture technology, policy and animal agriculture.
• Burger Bash and Ag Expo (Wednesday, April 12): Partnering with the Indiana Beef Cattle Association, students will serve beef, turkey and plant-based burgers while educating the public about the pasture-to-plate process and outlining the steps for making plant-based burgers. Ag Week sponsors will be on Memorial Mall from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to promote opportunities within the agricultural industry.
• Hammer Down Hunger (Thursday, April 13): Hammer Down Hunger provides students with the opportunity to help combat local and international food insecurity by packing meals with the organization Pack Away Hunger. In 2022 students packed more than 55,645 meals, which were dispersed throughout Indiana food deserts and internationally to Ukraine. Anyone interested in registering for a one-hour volunteer shift or making a donation can do so by going to the link here. A cornhole tournament, presented by the Purdue Agronomy Club, will take place from 5-8 p.m. on Memorial Mall.
• Farm to Fork Friday (April 14): Ag Week wraps up with Farm to Fork Friday, an opportunity for Indiana producers to educate students about their production process. This year the Ag Week Task Force has expanded the event to products grown outside Indiana to showcase some internationally grown products.

Each day of the week, College of Agriculture student organizations will set up booths on Memorial Mall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to promote their clubs and share information with students about their sector of the agriculture industry. The Ag Week Task Force also will hand out free promotional items daily and have educational quizzes based on the activities and organizations presented that day.

Media Contact: Abby Leeds, 740-816-7451, mayer36@purdue.edu

Writer and source: MacKinley Cooksey, 765-299-5873, cookseym@purdue.edu  

Agricultural Communications: 765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head, mmanier@purdue.edu

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