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| * U.S. Department of Labor WIRED |
March 7, 2008
WIRED survey finds weak links in agribusiness supply chain
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - An industry's supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. For the agribusiness industry in north-central Indiana, that chain is being stretched to the limit.A survey of agribusinesses in the 14-county Indiana WIRED region revealed that the industry faces work force challenges, regulatory issues and rising operating costs. Study findings will be shared during the Indiana WIRED Agribusiness Supply Chain Workshop on March 27 at the Logansport-Cass County Economic Development Foundation Office, 311 S. Fifth St., Logansport.
Indiana WIRED is an economic and work force development initiative administered by Purdue University.
Agribusiness is the third largest industry segment in the Indiana WIRED region, which includes Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Montgomery, Miami, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White counties, said Christy Bozic, Indiana WIRED's manager of business innovation.
"There are 484 agribusinesses in the region, which employ about 13,000 people," Bozic said. "It is a broad-based industry, ranging from independent farms to multinational manufacturers to distributors to farm credit firms and everything in between."
Although it is a large and well-established industry, agribusiness in north-central Indiana struggles with many of the same issues common to industry in general, said Mary Pilotte, managing director of Purdue's Global Supply Chain Management Initiative (GSCMI). The GSCMI, in Purdue's Krannert School of Management, conducted the agribusiness survey for Indiana WIRED.
"Agribusinesses that responded told us that their major concerns are hiring and training a qualified work force, business-friendly legislation and figuring out their role in the value chain," Pilotte said. "These are missing links in the agribusiness supply chain. If the industry can't find and train qualified workers who understand product safety and traceability, that can lead to real problems."
Such problems could include tainted product supply, unsanitary conditions at food processing plants and nationwide product recalls, among others, Pilotte said.
"In some cases agribusinesses are putting their least skilled workers on their most complex activities," she said. "That's not just an agribusiness problem - that's a problem in many industries, as willing and qualified workers become harder and harder to find."
The supply chain workshop will provide a snapshot of agribusiness in the Indiana WIRED counties, as well as offer ideas for strengthening the supply chain. A featured session involves a discussion of product safety and traceability issues.
The free workshop runs from 7:30 a.m. to noon and includes a continental breakfast. Ananth Iyer, the director of GSCMI, will be the workshop facilitator. Iyer led the agribusiness survey team.
To register or for more information, visit the Indiana WIRED Web site at https://www.indiana-wired.net. Workshop registration also can be completed by calling the GSCMI Center at (765) 494-4322. When calling, mention the Agribusiness Supply Chain Workshop.
WIRED, which stands for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, is a federal initiative designed to energize the nation's economy through regional economic development partnerships and work force education and training. In 2006 the U.S. Department of Labor awarded $15 million each to 13 regions in the United States, including a grant to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development (IDWD).
The IDWD selected Purdue to oversee the Indiana WIRED project.
Writer: Steve Leer, (765) 494-8415, sleer@purdue.edu
Sources: Christy Bozic, (765) 491-2200, cbozic@purdue.edu
Mary Pilotte, (765) 494-2860, mpilotte@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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