The 15th Annual ALP Benefit Auction will be on March 24, 2012 at the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center at 7001 W. 56th St., Indianapolis, IN 46234. Easy online registration

4:30pm event begins
6:00pm cash bar/dinner
Live auction to follow!

Cost: $75 per person
Table Sponsor: $2,000 (includes 8 dinner seats)

Please let us know if you are attending by March 15, 2012

Registration accepted by:
phone: 317-745-0947  fax: 317-745-0956
email: beth@agriinstitute.org
online: www.agriinstitute.org
Visa and Mastercard accepted

Easy online registration

Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

The innovative workforce of Dow AgroSciences has made the company successful and has given the organization the opportunity to become an active leader in benefiting society. Altruistic causes such as Noble of Indiana serve both the local community and the company. Additional examples like Kids Against Hunger and the United Way are organizations that The Dow Chemical Company Foundation support to improve humanity and social well being worldwide.

The definition of social responsibility is an ethical ideology that an organization or individual has an obligation to act to benefit society at large. Kenda Resler Friend and Tim Maniscalo expressed the goal of the foundation is to effectively distribute money where needed, and the foundation is always looking for major impact opportunities to support.

In your life you are balancing so many responsibilities (work, family, friends, relationships, leadership programs, etc.), does social responsibility take a back seat? Or do you weave social responsibility into your daily lives?

Eugene

Pete Hanebutt and Chris Fenner from the Indiana Farm Bureau lead our class computer simulation. While we were trying to understand what we were doing and how to vote on issues and pick activities, Pete would find his way around the room engaging us in discussions that had no purpose and asking questions that had no meaning. In most cases we had between 3 minutes and 30 seconds to make decisions. I learned quickly that when you don’t vote for the correct Congressional Campaign Committee chair, you get “punished” and put on horrible committees. Also, if you don’t pay attention to your staff…they quit! And you always want to send franked mail every time you can, to help raise funds for your reelection.

This was a very interactive activity that kept everyone on their toes. It also gave a brief glimpse into the tough decisions you have to make right from the start as a new member of congress. The good news is….We got REELECTED!

As a Purdue student scurrying from class to class, ok wandering around, the ag school campus I often wondered what was in some of these buildings that seemed to be in my way and slowing me down from getting to my classes.

Well, as ALP Class 14 found out, Purdue is a lot more than “cows and plows”. We toured some the non-traditional aspects of the ag school campus. Our tour included the Harwood Regeneration Center, Wood Products Lab and the Phil Nelson Food Science Building.

The Hardwood Regeneration Center works on helping Indiana’s top ranking hardwood industry. They conduct research to improve current timber stands, develop better quality trees as well as tree health.

The Wood Products Lab was started during World War II to develop better quality gunstocks. Since then the lab has developed a revolutionary truss, called the gusset plate truss, which now the industry standard. The lab helps the furniture industry by testing furniture designs.

While visiting the Phil Nelson Food Science Building, we saw the pilot lab where new food processing equipment is being tested. The sensory lab was the next stop in the food science department where new food products are tested by volunteers. The volunteers test food by evaluating the appearance, aroma and taste of the new products. The final stop was the very impressive enology library. The library is dedicated to Dr. Richard Vine and contains a very impressive wine collection.

So as you can see, Purdue Agriculture spans across several aspects of the industry.

On behalf of the ALP Class 14, I would like to thank John Baugh, Liz Jackson, Daniel Warner and Laurie Swift for conducting such an impressive tour.

Did you ever wonder what the term “land grant” university means? Why, or is it, really important? Even though many universities have such a designation is it really important anymore?

ALP class 14 had the opportunity to see just how broad the range of expectation and obligations of a land grant university can be. Some leaders from Purdue’s College of Ag gave us an overview of Extension Education and the 4-H program. We discovered that influencing international agriculture development in far away countries starts at Purdue. There are even influences in Indiana agriculture that are part of Purdue’s obligations to the people of Indiana just because of its special land grant designation.

So from 4-H programs to collaborating with research departments of multi-national companies to helping college students learn about agriculture half way around the globe, Purdue University and the College of Ag will be there.

- Bruce Kettler