By ANDREA MCCANN

Indiana Correspondent

VINCENNES, Ind. — State agricultural and university leaders paid homage to partnerships on August 5 when they convened at the brand-new Vincennes University Agricultural Center for its ribbon cutting.

“Vincennes University is the oldest university in the state, and one of the oldest institutions in the United States,” said Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch in her speech at the event. “So it’s exciting to continue Vincennes University’s rich history today by unveiling the new agricultural center.

“The possibilities of Vincennes University’s agriculture program are endless. The new center will allow experts the opportunity to provide students exposure to operating drones in the field; training for innovative urban farms; maintaining and operating farm equipment; and experimenting with new tissue cultures, growth environments, and water quality parameters.”

Crouch said a longstanding relationship between VU and Purdue University will continue to strengthen Indiana’s ag industry, as the new ag center allows experts a state-of-the-art space to come together to share expertise with students. The facility will house, among other things, Purdue’s Food Safety Training Hub, and the site is adjacent to the Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center.

“Vincennes University and Purdue University’s partnership will continue training our future farmers in all aspects of agriculture – combining the ag, bio, and tech industries into one building,” Crouch said.

Having all of VU’s ag-related programs under one roof will be beneficial, according to professor Charles Mansfield, who said some students may know they want to study agriculture but are unsure which concentration they want to pursue.

The programs include agribusiness, horticulture technology, the VU/Purdue transfer program, and the John Deere/Precision Ag program – another partnership to earn a shout-out at the Agricultural Center debut.

“We’ve got four ag programs at VU spread across three colleges, and we’ve not always done a good job recruiting,” said Mansfield, who also is a student advisor. “Having all four programs in one place will benefit all of the programs in recruiting.”

Having all of the ag programs in one facility will increase students’ exposure to all concentrations, he said, adding he also expects that to prevent students from migrating to another program of study because they’re unaware of all the ag-related majors VU offers.

“It should benefit both recruiting and retention,” he predicted.

Tim Hale, who leads the VU ag diesel program, said the faculty is excited. Being able to teach hands-on will enable students to become even more successful.

“We’re going to be able to do so much more,” he explained. “It’s going to benefit the students. It’s going to benefit the employers who hire them.”

Agribusiness Program Chair Susan Brocksmith, whose area includes a drone certification class and a new urban agriculture concentration, said the new ag center opens up many opportunities.

“You can literally walk out the back door and see what Purdue researchers are doing,” she said, adding the support from Purdue and state ag leaders is wonderful.

Purdue Dean of Agriculture Karen Plaut pledged to continue to strengthen the more than 60-year partnership between the two universities.

“It’s not very often you’re able to get up and celebrate an old relationship,” she told the audience, pointing out it is usually new relationships that are lauded. “How often can you say you have a 60-plus-year relationship? That’s really something to celebrate.”

She said the fact that Purdue and VU staff complement, rather than duplicate, one another’s work strengthens Indiana agriculture. She noted Purdue is responsible for outfitting the food safety hub to provide extension programs, food safety training, and research opportunities. There’s a shared classroom, audio visual training room, and office space.

A post-harvest room in the hub boasts a large walk-in cooler, testing equipment, and a “biosafety Level Two lab.” The lab has its own ventilation system, which enhances the level work that can be done there, according to Purdue food safety educator Scott Monroe.

“When we think about food safety, post-harvest is where we see the opportunity for things to happen,” he said.

For example, they’ll be able to research different wash methods, look at basic cleaning and sanitation of equipment, and test water coming off the produce. “Our hope is it will become a regional training center,” he added.

In his welcome, VU President Charles R. Johnson said the Agricultural Center and the great opportunities it offers are because of these partnerships.

“It is a great facility not only because of the technology in the rooms and labs, but because of the partnerships it represents: partnerships with great higher-education institutions; partnerships with great employers; and many partnerships within our own university,” he cited.

Indiana State Director of Agriculture Bruce Kettler said, “The word partnership has been mentioned several times. Partnerships are important in this industry to drive it forward. But we still have to have relationships with people; everybody needs to work together to make partnerships happen.”

That’s what makes the Ag Center so great, VU Director of Architectural Services Andrew Young said in his project overview – it’s not just the physical facility, but the people involved.

The 45,000 square-foot center, located along U.S. Highway 41 just north of Vincennes, holds classrooms, labs, equipment bays, offices, audio visual space, a conference room, a faculty lounge, vending area, and plenty of space for students to study and eat between classes. The classrooms, which seat 20-50 students, feature lots of natural light, carpet made with horizontally laid fibers for greater durability, and “wall talker” paint so instructors and students can write directly on the walls.

The common areas have beautiful and resilient colored epoxy-resin floors. The ag labs have gas, deionized water, vacuums, and hoods; and the horticultural design lab will have lighted drafting tables.

Young said 13 acres south of the facility will be developed for ag students in the future. A greenhouse is in the early planning stages, and a livestock facility is a possibility.

“Agriculture in Indiana is a $31 billion industry,” Crouch said. “We continue to lead in the Midwest with the best agriculture production and yields because of Vincennes University’s commitment to training our future farmers. Governor Eric Holcomb and I are so proud of VU’s contributions, for what VU is doing not only in this part of the state, but for the entire state of Indiana.”