By EMMA HOPKINS-O’BRIEN

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — During Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch’s Celebration of Agriculture at the Indiana State Fair earlier this month, two individuals and their families were honored with the AgriVision award.

The AgriVision is granted annually to those in Indiana agriculture who have helped shape the industry in significant ways. These contributions may be anything from developing a new technology or managing an agribusiness or organization, to working to address a global issue.

Crouch said the award originally was awarded to one person per year, but in many years they have found more than one individual who fits the criteria. Such was the case this year.

“These two individuals and their families represent the very best of Indiana agriculture and decades of contributions to the industry,” she said. “Their visions helped to shape the foundations of this industry not only statewide, but nationally and globally.”

The first recipient was the Poe family from Franklin, who own and operate Poe Hamps sheep farm. Stan Poe has served in the ag industry nearly his entire life. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in animal science from Purdue University and went on to earn his doctorate at the University of Kentucky.

After college, he worked part-time on the farm and part-time at companies such as Elanco and Indiana Farm Bureau, and as a Purdue extension educator. When his son, Stanley Poe II, returned to the farm in 1988, their sheep operation began seeing great success. Today, Poe Hamps boasts 500 head of Hampshire ewes, and sells them as breeding stock, market lambs, and 4-H club lambs.

The Poe family was first in line to adopt and support new marketing and management techniques, particularly artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transplant. In fact, working with a veterinarian, the Poes helped develop the AI technique that has been a major benefit to the industry.

Stan has also done his part to give back to the ag community, serving as a past president of the Indiana State Fair Board, the Indiana Sheep Assoc., and the Indiana 4-H Foundation, and several other positions of leadership. For all his efforts, he has also received the Governor’s Master Farmer Award and the Distinguished Hoosier Award, among many others.

Today, he continues to serve as a mentor to other sheep farmers, FFA members, and 4-H youth, along with his farming responsibilities shared with his wife, Carol, and their two sons and their families.

Upon accepting the award, Stan had nothing but praise and thanks for his entire family. “You know that an old white-haired guy couldn’t do all this,” he said. “My family – they’re the ones that are making it go. I sincerely I appreciate them and all of our friends in the industry so much.”

This year’s other recipient, Terry Tucker from Milford, is the CEO of Maple Leaf Farms. He was born into a farming family in Mentone that raised hogs and dairy cows. His first job was at a local feed company and farm – Maple Leaf Farms – owned by Donald Wentzel.

In college, Tucker studied agricultural economics at Purdue where he met his wife, Sandra, who was also Wentzel’s daughter. Once he graduated in 1963, he joined his father-in-law full-time at Maple Leaf Farms. When Wentzel passed away five years later, Tucker was named CEO.

For the next 30 years, Tucker oversaw changes toward vertical integration and built a duck feed mill and diagnostic lab to improve and expand the operation. The Tuckers also were the first duck company in the country to implement a comprehensive animal well-being program and be certified through the global food safety initiative.

These improvements revolutionized Maple Leaf, which is now a global company providing jobs for 1,000 employees. Tucker’s two sons, Scott and John, now lead the company as co-presidents and formed a biotech company in 2004 to market natural animal health products.

Every year, Tucker and Maple Leaf donate thousands of pounds of poultry products to hunger relief agencies. Recently, the family was honored by Purdue when they donated $1 million to establish the first endowed chair in poultry science.

In his acceptance of the AgriVision award, Tucker mentioned the family was proud to be part of the state fair, pointing out a food vendor that sold duck-fat fries and poutine this year.

“We really are global today,” he said. “We sell product in 46 countries. Maple Leaf is family-owned and very proud to be a part of Indiana agriculture and agribusiness.”